Kentucky Swimming and Diving is set to compete with the rest of the SEC conference in the 2023 SEC Championships at the Rec Center Natatorium on the Campus of Texas A&M University from February 14-18. The Kentucky women’s team is ranked 10th in the nation by the CSCAA and is the third highest-ranked team in the SEC, while the men’s team aims to improve upon its eighth-place finish at the 2022 Championships. In the previous season, Kentucky earned 15 medals collectively at SECs, set 10 school records, one conference record, and 10 NCAA A-cut times.
The Kentucky women’s team features five past SEC Champions, including Gillian Davey, Kyndal Knight, Lauren Poole, Izzy Gati, and Kaitlynn Wheeler, and seniors Caitlin Brooks and Beth McNeese, who already have SEC medals to their names. On the men’s side, 2022 All-American Mason Wilby leads the charge, with Junior Max Berg and Sophomore Victor Martin Roig also being past men’s medalists who will swim at this year’s meet.
This season, the Kentucky women’s team has gone 3-3 in dual meets, winning three-straight after starting the year 0-3, including a pair of wins against top-10 opponents in Georgia and Louisville. On the other hand, the UK men finished the dual meet season at 1-5, with their lone victory coming in their final dual meet of the year at Cincinnati.
Kentucky boasts several swimmers who are ranked inside the top ten in the SEC in their respective events, including Kaitlynn Wheeler and Izzy Gati, who are both amongst the tops in the conference in the 200 free, and Caitlin Brooks, who ranks sixth and fourth in the 100 and 200 back, respectively. Denise Phelan and Bridget Engel represent UK in the 100 breast, while Davey and Engel are among the leaders in the 200 breast. Poole comes in second in the conference in both the 200 and 400 IMs, while Davey holds the third-fastest time in the conference in the 400 IM. On the men’s side, Levi Sandidge holds the SEC’s fourth-fastest 1650 free time this season, while Wilby is second in the 200 butterfly.
Overall, Kentucky Swimming and Diving has a strong roster and is expected to perform well at the 2023 SEC Championships. The team’s past accomplishments, coupled with its top-ranking swimmers, give them a good chance of success in this year’s competition.
