Kentucky Swimming & Diving Puts on a Show in Season Opener
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s and women’s swimming and diving program opened its season with a tri-meet at the Lancaster Aquatic Center on Wednesday, sweeping Notre Dame and collecting a win over powerhouse program Indiana for the first time in more than 10 years.
The Kentucky women swept both of its opponents, defeating Indiana in a 161.00-139.00 decision. It marked the first time the women’s team has defeated the Hoosiers since 2007, but just the second time in 20 seasons. The UK women also defeated Notre Dame in the tri-meet, 184.50-115.50, to commence the season with a perfect 2-0 record.
On the men’s side, Kentucky defeated Notre Dame for the second straight season in a 176.00-124.00 decision. The Wildcats fell to Indiana, 204.00-96.00, giving the squad a 1-1 record to begin the season.
“I thought today went well,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “Indiana is one of the most storied programs in the country, so they were good competition. Notre Dame is a really good team as well, so it was a really good early season meet between three pretty solid teams.
“I was happy the women won both meets, and I thought the guys swam really well. I’m really happy with our last 400-yard freestyle relay on the men’s side. I also thought our divers dove well today, and that helped us out as well. It was a good team effort, overall.”
The Kentucky women led both Indiana and Notre Dame for the entire meet, forcing a lead after the first race. The foursome in freshman Caitlin Brooks, junior Bailey Bonnett and sophomores Izzy Gati and Riley Gaines topped the 200-yard medley relay field, posting a 1:40.67 to finish in first place.
Brooks, a newcomer from Gainesville, Florida, produced standout performances in her first collegiate meet. In addition to leading off the opening relay, she finished in first place in the 100-yard backstroke in 54.20. Later in the meet, she notched second place in the 200-yard backstroke in 1:57.24 – only behind senior and Southeastern Conference Champion Asia Seidt who took first place in 1:56.26.
Adding valuable points to the women’s team, sophomore Kyndal Knight swept the women’s diving events. The reigning SEC Co-Female Freshman Diver of the Year posted 155.70 points (three dives) on the 1-meter springboard, leading a UK sweep on that discipline. Behind her, freshman Morgan Southall recorded 139.40 points to finish in second place and senior Emma Dellmore posted 136.35 points to settle in third place.
Knight also won the 3-meter springboard event on 166.30 points (three dives).
The Kentucky men added a pair of first-place finishes on the boards, helping UK sweep all four of the springboard events in the tri-meet. Sophomore Danny Zhang recorded 189.75 points (three dives) to earn first place in the men’s 3-meter springboard, while junior Chase Lane recorded 170.90 points on the men’s 1-meter springboard to lead the field.
“I thought we had some great performances today,” said head diving coach Ted Hautau. “The women started the meet off great on the 1-meter board, sweeping the event. We chose a good format with only three dives. It lets us do our training for the season without having to go to fast.”
“Danny won the 3-meter dive, which is awesome. Chase came back and won the 1-meter dive, and he did a great job. Kyndal won both boards – that was well done with her. Plus, Emma is coming off an injury from last season and is doing phenomenal. We have a lot of work to do, but I was pleased with the way they approached the day.”
In addition to Lane’s and Zhang’s gold performances, senior Peter Wetzlar added useful points to the men’s final score. The Zimbabwean earned the fastest time in the men’s 50-yard freestyle on a time of 20.11. He also helped the men’s 400-yard free relay team earn first place in 2:57.69 to close the meet. Leading off the relay team was senior Jason Head, followed by Wetzalr, newcomer Lukas Kraft and anchored by senior Glen Brown.
Sophomore Izzy Gati stepped up on the women’s side, leading a 1-2 sweep in the 200-yard butterfly. She touched the pad in 1:59.35 to finish in first, while Seidt recorded a 1:59.69 to finish in second.
Next on the Schedule
The Kentucky swimming and diving program will be back in the pool next week, hosting South Carolina and Ohio University for a Breast Cancer Awareness meet on Oct. 19 at 11 a.m. at the Lancaster Aquatic Center.
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.
