Eight from Swimming & Diving Picked to All-SEC Teams

by Greg Welsh

Full List of Award Winners

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Southeastern Conference announced the men’s and women’s swimming & diving awards on Wednesday, selecting a group of eight Wildcats to the All-SEC Teams for the 2022-23 season.

Kentucky student-athletes to earn the recognition include: Levi Sandidge, Mason Wilby, Lauren Poole, Kyndal Knight, Caitlin Brooks, Lydia Hanlon, Denise Phelan and Grace Frericks.

Sandidge was picked to both the SEC First-Team and the All-Freshman Team after an outstanding first collegiate season in the water highlighted by winning the SEC Championship in the 1650 freestyle. Sandidge is the first Kentucky freshman to earn first-team honors since Asia Seidt in 2017, and the first ever to do so on the men’s side. A native of Richardson, Texas Sandidge was named a First-Team All American in the mile after finishing sixth in the event at the NCAA Championships. His gold medal at the SEC Championships was the first by a Kentucky men’s swimmer since 2006 with his winning time of 14:31.47 breaking the previous UK record by more than 17 seconds.

Fifth-year Wilby earned All-SEC Second Team recognition for the second consecutive season, once again winning bronze at the SEC Championships in the 200 butterfly. For the season, Wilby tallied five first-place finishes in dual meets and qualified for the NCAA Championships for the third time in his collegiate career. A native of Gainesville, Fla., Wilby leaves UK as the program record holder in the 200 backstroke, 200 butterfly and 200 IM.

For Poole, this year’s selection marks her third All-SEC nod and her second-straight to the second team. The senior won two medals at this year’s SEC Championships for the first time in her collegiate career, placing third in the 200 IM and second in the 400 IM. Poole was the lone Wildcat to win multiple medals at the meet, scoring 64 points for the team. At the 2023 NCAA Championships, Poole collected First-Team All-America honors in the 400 IM for the third consecutive season.

Fifth-year diver Knight finds herself earning All-SEC status once again as the Stanley, N.C. native was picked to the second team for the third time. Knight qualified for the “A-Final” in all three diving events at the SEC Championships, one of just two divers in the conference to do so. Knight claimed silver in platform for the fifth SEC medal of her collegiate career and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the fifth-straight season. At the Ohio State Invitational this past fall, Knight set new personal bests in all three events, including the Kentucky program record on the three-meter springboard.

A native of Gainesville, Fla., Brooks was selected to the All-SEC second team for the third time in her swimming career after winning bronze in the 200 backstroke at the 2023 SEC Championships. The senior reached the finals in both the 100 and 200 backstroke at SECs, scoring a total of 54 points. At the NCAA Championships, Brooks finished 15th in the 200 back to collect All-American Honorable Mention accolades for the fifth time. She was one of four UK point scorers at the national championship meet.

Grace Frericks, Lydia Hanlon and Denise Phelan form a trio of Kentucky women honorees on the 2023 SEC All-Freshmen team. Frericks, a native of Cedar Falls, Iowa, was a part of the NCAA qualifying 800 FR for the Wildcats. At her first SEC Championships, Frericks reached the finals in three events, highlighted by a sixth-place finish in the 200 backstroke. Hanlon, too, had an excellent SEC Championship debut, making three finals and placing inside the top-10 in both the 100 and 200 backstroke. The native of Tallahassee, Fla. would go on to compete in both of those events at the NCAA Championships. Rounding out the trio of female freshmen award winners is Phelan, a Commack, N.Y. native who scored 46 points for the Wildcats at the SEC Championships. Phelan was an NCAA qualifier for Kentucky, where she finished inside the top-20 in both the 100 and 200 breast with a pair of personal best times. The freshman’s 59.38 in the 100 breast ties her for second in program history in the event.

Kentucky Swimming & Diving Conference Awards: