RV/No. 12 Kentucky Falls to No. 17/7 Tennessee on Friday

LEXINGTON, Ky. – It was a hard-fought battle between two Southeastern Conference rivals, but the RV/No. 12 University of Kentucky men’s and women’s swimming and diving team fell to No. 17/7 Tennessee on Friday afternoon at the Lancaster Aquatic Center. The UK men’s team dropped a 192-108 decision to the Vols while the Wildcat women were bested by the Lady Vols, 161.5-138.5.

Kyndal Knight swept both boards for Kentucky, posting final scores of 290.18 on the 1-meter and 333.60 on the 3-meter. Morgan Southall finished second on the 3-meter with a personal best of 327.75, and Abby Devereaux achieved her Zone cut on the 1-meter 272.85 for a lifetime best of her own.

Danny Zhang also claimed both boards on the men’s side, sweeping the 1-meter (369.23) and 3-meter (424.43) in convincing fashion. Sam Duncan dove to second on the 1-meter with a score of 336.75, while Rodrigo Romero did the same on the 3-meter (369.00).

Dominating the 200 free for the women in the pool was Riley Gaines, who won the event by well over a second in 1:46.60 before going on to earn the runner-spot in the 50 free (22.85). The senior co-captain also tied for first in the 100 free with Tennessee’s Trude Rothrock in 49.83.

Caitlin Brooks was victorious in the 100 back, clocking in at 53.12 as Sophie Sorenson (54.07) took third and Lauren Poole (54.34) placed fourth. Sorenson (1:55.75) and Brooks (1:55.91) made it a one-two finish for UK in the 200 back with Poole (1:56.84) again taking fourth. 

Poole also finished second in the 200 IM in the closest race of the day, taking second by just one-tenth in 2:00.42, with Sorenson (2:01.07) and Bailey Bonnett (2:01.44) finishing second and third. 

The Wildcats also went 2-4 in the 1000 free after Beth McNeese (10:03.79) took second with Megan Drumm (10:05.55) and Caroline Benda (10:05.75) following close behind. Drumm was Kentucky’s top finisher in the 500 free, placing second in 4:52.53, and Gillian Davey also registered a runner-up spot in the 200 breast (2:12.59).

Pacing the Wildcat men in the pool was Mason Wilby, who won the 200 fly in 1:46.05 to hold off Tennessee’s Kayky Mota by less than three-tenths. He also got his hand to the wall first in the 200 IM in 1:48.62 in addition to taking second in the 100 fly (48.31). 

UK’s distance contingent was led by Adam Rosipal who recorded a second-place finish in the 500 free (4:31.20) and a third-place showing in the 1000 free (9:17.51). Jakob Clark was third in the 500 free (4:32.28) and fourth in the 1000 free (9:19.47).

Victor Martin Roig was the runner-up in the 200 free with a time of 1:38.25, followed closely by Max Berg (1:38.30) in third. Berg also sprinted to third in the 50 free after stopping the clock in 20.63 while Roig turned in a time of 44.97 for fourth in the 100 free.

Also tallying a second-place finish was Kyle Barker in the 100 back with a final time of 49.05 as Jackson Mussler (50.94) took fourth. Mussler then went on to take second in the 200 back in 1:47.38 with Barker finishing third in 1:49.41.

The Wildcats have two weeks off from competition to prepare for the Ohio State Invitational from Nov. 18-20. Hosted by the Buckeyes, the three-day meet will take place at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio.

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.