LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky swimming and diving picked up wins on both the men’s and women’s side on Friday afternoon, taking down the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Lancaster Aquatic Center in their first meet of 2026. The men outscored Notre Dame 187-112, while the women won the battle 158-141.
The day was highlighted by yet another historic swim from freshman Falemana Tuufui in the 50 free, once again bettering his program record with a time of 19.20. Known as the fastest swimmer in school history, Tuufui dominated the race and took another event win in the 100 free as well. The 100 free time was 42.94, which is the sixth best time in school history in that event.
Apart from Tuufui, two other Wildcats achieved new top 10 times: Javier Lopez Guillen and Eli Greinke. Lopez Guillen swam the seventh fastest time for the second time this season, in 47.10. Greinke added his name to the 100 breast top 10 in 53.66.
Throughout the meet we saw event wins from Paige Housman (16:49.08) and Levi Sandidge (14:48.69) in the 1650 free, Katy Jost (1:47.43, 4:50.01) in the 200 and 500 free, Fernanda De Goeij (53.35) in the 100 back, Sarah Anne Shaffer (1:01.35, 2:12.62) and Adomas Gatulis (52.59, 1:58.60) in the 100 and 200 breast, and Carson Hick (4:19.62) in the 500 free, and Hayden Penny (1:59.35) and Ryan Merani (1:47.23) both won the 200 IM. The day rounded up with a win in the 200 free relay for the men’s UK A team in 1:18.18.
On the diving side, Avery Giese won the 1M dive (286.50) and Kristy Pfaff scored the ninth best in program history on the 3M dive with 342.45. Gabriel Perdigao (353.03) won the 3M dive, adding some points to the men’s team and their final score.
Coming away with a win, the Wildcats have a quick turnaround. They will be back at the Lancaster Aquatic Center tomorrow at 11 a.m. against the SEC’s Missouri Tigers. The meet is free admission for all fans, but those that cannot attend are encouraged to follow along through social media and the MeetMobile App for live results.
For the latest on UK Swim & Dive, follow the Wildcats on X and Instagram at @UKSwimDive, and on Facebook at Kentucky Swimming and Diving.
