Brooks, Zhang Earn Southeastern Conference Weekly Honors
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Southeastern Conference recognized freshman Caitlin Brooks as the Female Freshman of the Week and sophomore Danny Zhang as the Male Diver of the Week Tuesday afternoon, after turning in elite performances against No. 10/19 Louisville last weekend.
Helping the No. 13 Kentucky women’s swimming and diving team to its third straight triumph over No. 19 Louisville, Brooks rallied three top performances to earn her third conference freshman honor of the season. Providing valuable points to the team score, Kentucky’s third straight win over UofL is its longest streak over the in-state foe since at least before 2009.
Brooks swept the backstroke events, claiming 53.91 in the 100-yard backstroke and 1:56.64 in the 200-yard backstroke. The Gainesville, Florida, native also helped the 200-yard medley relay team to first place, swimming a 24.89 lead leg in the backstroke split.
The trio of victories helped Brooks to her 11th overall gold finish this season with one dual meet remaining on the schedule.
On the men’s side, Zhang swept the springboard events at No. 10 Louisville, while also topping the exhibition platform field. It marked just the second time this season that Zhang swept the springboard events, while the pair of top finishes make his fourth and fifth gold performances this season.
Recording 383.55 points on the 3-meter springboard, he defeated the eight-person field by more than 40 points. Even more impressive, Zhang collected 346.43 points on the 1-meter springboard to separate himself from the eight-person field by more than 66 points.
Boasting a mark of 346.43 on the 1m board, Zhang set his career high on the discipline. For the first time in his career, he moved into the record book’s top-10, all-time scorers on 1m for ninth place. He is now in the program record book for his performances on all three disciplines.
Moreover, Zhang competed in the exhibition platform event where he scored 338.48 points to top the field and set a career high in that event, too. It marked just the third time he has competed on platform in his young career.
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