To open up the new year the Kentucky swimming and diving team will head to Blacksburg, Virginia for a two-day double-dual meet with Atlantic Coast Conference opponents Georgia Tech and host school Virginia Tech. Events are set to run Friday and Saturday, Jan. 6-7.
“We’re excited to compete again,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “It’s been a long break but it’s been a really good break as far as training. Now we have to transition into racing against two really good teams. Last season, Virginia Tech came here and beat us, so they’ll be a really tough matchup for us. I think it’s going to be a really competitive early spring semester meet. Both of these ACC teams are outstanding, so we’re looking forward to going to Blacksburg.”
Coming off an extremely successful Ohio State Invite, the Kentucky women shot up to their highest ranking of the season, holding down the No. 18 spot in the latest College Swimming Coaches Association of America’s Top 25.
“We’re definitely trying to hit in-season dual-meet bests this weekend,” said senior Danielle Galyer. “We’ve had a few really tough weeks of training, so hopefully that will show in our performance. I think both the boys’ and girls’ teams are looking to beat both teams and I think it will be a really good showing for us.”
The meet will kick off Friday at 2 p.m. ET with the 1- and 3-meter springboards followed by the 1650 free at 2:30. Starting at 5 p.m., the evening session will include the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 free relay.
On Saturday, a swimming session is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. that includes the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back and 800 free relay. At noon, the divers will compete on the 10-meter platform, and the meet will close with the final session starting at 3 p.m. with the 200 free relay, 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and 400 medley relay.
KENTUCKY ATHLETES IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
Between both the men’s and women’s squads, Kentucky holds 15 times that currently rank in the top 25 nationally among Division I swimmers, including six times that rank in the top 10.
Senior Kyle Higgins holds one of the highest-ranked times for Kentucky, as he owns the No. 6 spot in the 200-yard butterfly with a school-record time of 1:42.66.
Senior Drew Aviotti is the only other Wildcat on the men’s side holding times in the top 25. His school-record time of 14:58.50 in the 1650-yard freestyle ranks the No. 13 swim in the event while his 9:05.17 in the 1000 free is the 18th-fastest time among Division I swimmers.
On the women’s side, freshman Asia Seidt has completely dominated for the Blue and White. Seidt currently holds four individual times that sit inside the top 25. Her 1:51.18 A-cut finish in the 200-yard backstroke at the Ohio State Invite earned her the fourth-fastest time in the country. The freshman’s 1:55.33 time in the 200-yard individual medley also gained automatic entry to NCAAs and sits as the seventh-best time in the country. Seidt also holds the No. 8 time in the 100-yard backstroke and 16th-fastest time in the 400 IM.
The Wildcat women have emerged as a powerhouse in the 200 backstroke. In addition to Seidt, three Kentucky swimmers rank within the top 15 nationally in the event. Defending NCAA champion in the event, senior Danielle Galyer currently holds down the No. 7 spot in the event. Junior Bridgette Alexander follows close behind with the 8th-fastest time after posting a first-place 1:52.38 at the AT&T Winter Nationals. Freshman Ali Galyer rounds out the event with the No. 14 spot.
Sophomore Geena Freriks is the only other Wildcat to grab an individual top-25 time for the women, as her school-record time of 4:39.34 at the Ohio State Invite is good for 14th in the standings.
Additionally, the women own top-25 times in the 400 freestyle relay (No. 25), 800 freestyle relay (No. 9) and 400 medley relay (No. 13).
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats wrapped up their fall slate with an extremely successful outing at the Ohio State Invite on Nov. 20 posting seven school-record swims to propel the men and women to third and second-place finishes, respectively. The women recorded 615 points in the meet behind Stanford (1,080), while the men had 629.5 points behind host-school Ohio State (1,233) and Utah (746.5).
For the latest on the Kentucky swimming and diving program, follow @UKSwimDive on Twitter, on Facebook at Facebook.com/UKSwimDive, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
‑ GO CATS –
For more information contact:
Karlie Kinneer
