Men’s and Women’s Diving, Women’s Swimming Primed for 2021 SEC Championship

ATHENS, Ga. and COLUMBIA, Mo.  –  The No. 3 University of Kentucky women’s swimming and diving team and the men’s diving lineup are primed for the 2021 Southeastern Conference Championships this week. Unique to this season, the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships have been split into three separate events:
 

• Men’s and Women’s Diving on February 17-20 at the Mizzou Aquatic Center in Columbia, Mo.
• Women’s Swimming on February 17-20 at Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga.
• Men’s Swimming on February 23-26 at the Mizzou Aquatic Center in Columbia, Mo.

 
Last Thursday, the women’s swimming and diving team earned its highest national ranking in school history, checking in at No. 3 in the latest College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America Division I poll. The historic mark came after No. 10 Kentucky dominated No. 19 Louisville in its regular-season finale at the Lancaster Aquatic Center on Jan. 23, defeating the in-state foe in a 200.5-99.5 final score. It marked UK’s largest triumph over UofL in the Lars Jorgensen era, as the team won 13 of 16 possible events. It also marked UK’s fourth straight win over a ranked UofL squad.
 
The women’s swimming and diving team lost just one dual meet all season, earning wins against Vanderbilt, No. 7 Tennessee, RV Arkansas, No. 13 Missouri, No. 11 Alabama and No. 19 Louisville. Kentucky lost at No. 5 Tennessee in a rematch in mid-January.
 
The Wildcats head into the league championships with a remarkable 19 individual swimming events ranked in the nation’s top 25, not including two relay events that are ranked in the nation’s top 10 and their diving events.
 
Riley Gaines, a junior from Gallatin, Tennessee, paces the team, breaking two school records this season to become third in the nation in the 200 freestyle (1:43.68), ninth in the nation in the 100 freestyle (48.42) and 16th in the nation in the 200 butterfly (1:56.10). Izzy Gati, Beth McNeese, Caitlin Brooks, Sophie Sorenson, Gillian Davey, Lauren Poole and Kaylee Williams also boast one or more events ranked in the nation’s top 25, with a strong supporting cast right at the bubble.
 
Kyndal Knight has found career success in the pool, too, resetting her career best on all three boards this season – 1-meter springboard (320.78), 3-meter springboard (355.58) and platform (285.40). The junior won first place six out of nine times and first or second place eight out of nine times, this season.
 
Rounding out the female divers on the trip are Morgan Southall and Van McKinley.
 
Last year, Knight became the conference champion on the 3-meter springboard with a score of 353.75, more than seven points greater than second place. Meanwhile, Danny Zhang earned himself a gold medal, too, winning platform on 422.10 points.
 
Rounding out the male divers competing in Missouri are Chase Lane, Sam Duncan, Rodrigo Romero and Caiden Lake. Lane, a senior from Tallahassee, Florida, is the back-to-back silver medalist on platform.
 
Lane has earned first or second place seven times in nine total events, while Zhang has earned first or second place 10 times in 12 total events, this season.
 
The Kentucky women’s swimming and diving team is returning three individual medalists from the 2020 SEC Championships in Bonnett, Gati and Knight. The squad is also returning Riley Gaines and Beth McNeese, contributors to relay teams that earned podium finishes last season. The squad has finished in third place three of its last four appearances at the conference championships, each time tying for its best finish in program history since the beginning of the meet in 1984-85.
 
All sessions of the championships will air live on SEC Network+, and the schedule of the women’s swimming events and the men’s and women’s diving events are as follows:

*Denotes relay events are finals-only events.
 
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.