School-Record 10 Swimmers Invited to 2020 NCAA Women’s Championships

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A school-record 10 swimmers will represent Kentucky at the 2020 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, it was announced by the committee Thursday. The University of Georgia will host the national meet March 18-21 at the Ramsey Center in Athens, Georgia.
 
“I really like our team and I look forward to competing against the best swimmers in the nation in a couple of weeks,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “We’re eager to have qualified 10 swimmers from our women’s team, an accomplishment we haven’t reached before. It is a testament to the hard work our team has put in all season.”
 
Nine of the 10 athletes earned qualifying marks in two or more events, for a combined 23 event entries total, which is also a school record. It’s eight more events than UK had the opportunity to swim in last season.
 
The Wildcats were invited to the NCAA Championships by meeting established time standards by swimming in events throughout the season. The qualified members include three freshmen, three sophomores, two juniors and two seniors.
 
Kentucky has earned nine spots in each of the last two seasons at the NCAA Championships, while in 2018, UK ended up with a 10th swimmer after earning an alternate spot last minute.
 
Kentucky will look to increase its traveling roster after the Zone C Diving Championships from March 12-14 inside the Lancaster Aquatic Center. Following the dive meet, the complete UK men’s and women’s NCAA teams, including divers, will be announced.
 
The UK women’s team has placed 14th in the national meet in two of the last three years and 15th place in 2019. The Wildcats scored the most points in school history in 2017, racking up 106 points. The squad scored 100.5 points last season, just the second time in school history it eclipsed the 100 mark at the NCAA Championships.
 
Five of the 10 Wildcats who qualified for the championships were selected as competitors in the 2019 meet a year ago in Bailey Bonnett, Ali Galyer, Izzy Gati, Asia Seidt and Sophie Sorenson. Riley Gaines traveled as an alternate.
 
Kentucky’s NCAA qualifying swimmers and events are as follows:
 
Bailey Bonnett
200 IM
400 IM
200 BR
 
Caitlin Brooks
100 BK
200 BK
 
Gillian Davey
400 IM
200 BR
 
Riley Gaines
200 FR
200 FL
 
Ali Galyer
500 FR
200 FR
200 BK
 
Izzy Gati
200 IM
100 FL
200 FL
 
Jaclyn Hill
200 BR
 
Beth McNeese
500 FR
1650 FR

Asia Seidt
200 IM
100 BK
200 BK
 
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.