Knight Tests Strong Field at USA Diving Winter Nationals
MINNEAPOLIS – Sophomore Kyndal Knight will go head-to-head against some of the nation’s best divers this weekend, competing at the USA Diving Winter Nationals in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dec. 20-22.
Knight, a native of Stanley, North Carolina, qualified to compete on the 1- and 3-meter springboards at nationals by earning approved scores earlier in the year. The meet schedule is as follows:
Friday, Dec. 20 (all times in ET)
11 a.m. Women’s 3m Prelims
5 p.m. Women’s 3m Semifinals
Sunday, Dec. 22 (all times in ET)
11 a.m. Women’s 3m Finals
1:50 p.m. Women’s 1m Prelims
3:40 p.m. Women’s 1m Finals
Unlike a collegiate meet where athletes present six dives, Knight will enter a list of five dives per competition.
The women’s 3m field includes 35 contestants, while 18 will advance to the semifinals and from there the top 12 will compete for the title. The women’s 1m field includes 25 contestants, while the top eight scorers will advance straight to the final round.
In her short time at Kentucky, Knight has made a large impact on the women’s program. To start the season, the sophomore won seven of her first eight events (three 1m, four 3m), competing against opponents from eight teams across four meets.
Knight has reset her career high on the 3m board twice this season, achieving her best score yet with 343.95 points on the discipline at Texas on Oct. 25. It ranks seventh on UK’s top-10 all-time performance list, the lone current Wildcat featured on the list. She led the nation on the 3m board in optional average scoring with 56.30 points per dive through the first three meets of the fall season.
Last year, Knight was named the SEC Co-Female Freshman Diver of the Year, selected to the SEC All-Freshman Team and became an NCAA All-American honoree on 3m.
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.
