Freshman Zhang Finishes 11th in His Lone Event of the National Meet
AUSTIN, Texas – Placing 11th overall on the 3-meter springboard in the 2019 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday, newcomer Danny Zhang is the second University of Kentucky freshman diver to become a NCAA All-America honoree this season.
Collecting 357.00 points in the preliminary round, Zhang finished 13th in the 45-person field to find a spot in the consolation finals. There, the California native rallied 361.70 points to become a first-time NCAA All-American on an 11th-place finish, while adding valuable points to the UK men’s team total.
It was just last Friday that freshman Kyndal Knight finished 13th overall in the same discipline to earn her first NCAA All-America honor. The North Carolina native tabbed 322.55 points in the consolation finals.
Senior Seb Masterton, who finished 12th overall in the 1-meter dive on Thursday on his way to becoming a three-time NCAA All-American, landed 26th in the preliminary heat of the 3M dive on 319.70 points. The only UK male to qualify for the 2019 NCAA Championships in all three disciplines, the England native will compete on platform on Saturday in his final collegiate performance of his career.
Junior Wyatt Amdor swam in the 100 breaststroke preliminary round on Friday, to round out the UK men’s individual swimming events of the meet. Swimming in heat three with a seedtime of 52.43 – the school record – the junior rallied a time stamp of 53.50 to finish 35th overall. It was the first time the Pennsylvania native has competed in the NCAA Championships.
In the swimming and diving divisions, only the top 16 finishers from the preliminary round move on to the finals round and receive points – the top eight are in the final heat, while the following eight are in a consolation heat. In finals, the top eight finishers will earn a podium finish and are pegged as NCAA First-Team All-Americans. Finishers ranked nine through sixteen are considered NCAA Honorable Mention All-Americans. It applies to individual and relay events, while there are no preliminary rounds for the 1650 freestyle and the 800 freestyle relay.
Fans are encouraged to refer to the Meet Central page for the most up to date information on the 2019 Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships, including current heat sheets, schedule, live results, final results, broadcast information, and ticket and parking information.
ESPN will provide live linear coverage for finals events on ESPN3 Wednesday through Saturday. Preliminary swimming and diving events will be available to watch here.
For the latest on the Kentucky swimming and diving program, follow @UKSwimDive on Twitter and on Instagram, on Facebook and on the web at UKathletics.com.
