The Kentucky swimming and diving teams completed day one of their two-day quad meet against Southeastern Conference foe Missouri, Northwestern and Southern Illinois on Friday evening inside Lancaster Aquatic Center.
At the conclusion of Friday’s events, the men’s team leads SIU 155-31 and holds a 133-53 advantage over Northwestern. The women have also tallied a 155-29 edge over SIU, and lead Northwestern 126-60. Both the men and women trail the Tigers, the men by only a two-point deficit, 94-92, and the women 108-78.
The Wildcats earned seven overall first place finishes on the day, as the men posted four top times and the women earned three. The men and women also combined for six NCAA B standard times, three coming on each side.
The first victory of the day came from senior diver Becca Hamperian, as she compiled a 293.20 tally on the 3-meter springboard. Hamperian also earned a third-place finish on the 1-meter with her score of 293.20.
Sophomore diver Seb Masterton also put together two top-three performances on the springboards today, placing first on the 1-meter with 340.20 points, and third on the 3-meter with his 346.75.
Freshmen Glen Brown and Asia Seidt both put together top finishes for their teams in the 200-yard individual medley, as Brown posted a 1:49.36 for the men and Seidt a 2:01.04 for the women. Brown’s time falls just three-tenths of a second short of a B standard, while Seidt’s time qualifies for NCAA consideration. Seidt also earned another B cut time in the 200 backstroke event with her 1:57.44 swim.
In the women’s 500-yard freestyle race, sophomore Geena Freriks touched in 4:49.77 for the top finish in the event. She also earned a top-three finish in the 100 free, with her third-place time of 51.94.
Senior Kyle Higgins continued to dominate the 200 breaststroke, as he’s posted the top time in the event in each meet this season. His 1:46.75 finish also earns him another B cut time.
Walker Thaning was a strong contributor for the men, posting a B cut time in the 200 backstroke with his 1:46.20 finish. He also teamed up with Wyatt Amdor, Higgins and Sean Gunn to put together a first-place time of 3:18.86 in the 400 medley relay.
Last season’s quad meet was hosted by Missouri. Against the Salukis, the men captured a 239-106 victory, while the women recorded a 238-106 win. Only the men’s team took on Northwestern, downing the Big Ten Wildcats, 231.5-112.5. Both teams dropped to Mizzou, with the men falling in a 193.5-144.5 decision, while the women dropped a 214-124 contest.
The Wildcats will resume action Saturday at 10 a.m. inside Lancaster Aquatic Center.
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.
Karlie Kinneer
Media Relations Assistant