Women’s Swimming & Diving to Compete at NCAA Championships

by Greg Welsh

Meet Central

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 9 Kentucky women’s swimming & diving makes its way to the 2023 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, hosted by the University of Tennessee, March 15-18 at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center.

The Wildcats bring 15 individual qualifiers to the national stage, tied for the most in program history. The last time Kentucky featured 15 NCAA participants was 2021, when the Cats went on to place 11th with 152 points, the team’s best NCAA result all-time.

The 2023 event will kick off on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. with timed finals in both the 200-medley relay and 800-freestyle relay. Thursday, Friday and Saturday will all feature two sessions, morning prelims at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m. All sessions will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Additionally, ESPNU will air a two-hour show at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29. Fans can follow along with live results on UTSports.com or by using the Meet Mobile app.

More information, including the event schedule, can be found on the meet central page.

Kentucky’s NCAA squad features 13 swimmers: Caitlin Brooks, Gillian Davey, Megan Drumm, Bridget Engel, Grace Frericks, Izzy Gati, Lydia Hanlon, Beth McNeese, Olivia Mendenhall, Denise Phelan, Lauren Poole, Paige Taber and Kaitlynn Wheeler, along with two divers: Abby Devereaux and Kyndal Knight. The Wildcats are also eligible to race in the 200 MR, 400 MR and 800 FR.

Of UK’s 15 qualifiers, nine are NCAA returnees, while six, including four freshmen, will be making their championship debut. The group combines for 39 total entries, with 10 student-athletes eligible to compete in three individual events, the maximum number allowed. Kentucky’s 15 representatives are the sixth-most of any school in the country and the second most in the SEC, trailing only Florida.

Both Gati (8th, 500 free) and Poole (5th, 400 IM) enter the meet with seed times that rank among the top-eight in the nation, which would earn All-America First Team Status. Gati and Poole are two of seven returning All-Americans for UK alongside, Brooks, Davey, Knight, McNeese and Wheeler.

Last season, the Wildcats placed 12th at the NCAA Championships in Atlanta, scoring 115.5 points and earning four first-team All-American selections.

Kentucky is coming off a third-place finish at the SEC Championships in which the team collected four medals and finished with 946 points. SEC medalists for the Wildcats were Poole (200 IM, 400 IM), Brooks (100 back) and Knight (Platform).

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