Improving by the day, junior University of Kentucky swimmer Asia Seidt continues to make history after she reset her own school record in the 100 backstroke on Friday. In the process, she is the only swimmer in program history – male or female – to be named a seven-time NCAA First-Team All-American.
Having swum the event in 2017 and 2018, this is the first year Seidt earned an “A” finals appearance in the 100 backstroke. In each of her first two years, she finished as an honorable mention NCAA All-American.
This morning, the Louisville native recorded a 50.90 in the preliminary round to earn the fifth-overall seed. Swimming in the seventh lane in the main event, Seidt set a career-best 50.68 to reset her own school record by .18 and earn a fifth-place podium finish.
It was just yesterday that the junior finished fifth overall in the 200 IM, racking up two podium finishes and two NCAA First-Team All-America honors in two straight days. In addition, she helped the 800 freestyle relay to an honorable mention NCAA All-America honor on Wednesday, the opening night. Meanwhile, Seidt’s specialty race – 200 backstroke – has yet to contest, alongside one final relay.
Freshman Kyndal Knight became a first-time NCAA All-American when she finished 14th overall on the 3-meter springboard. In a field of 47, the newcomer was one of 16 to advance in the competition by posting a 319.25. In the consolation round, Knight posted a 322.55 to finish in 14th place and become and honorable mention NCAA All-American.
She is just one of two freshmen from the Southeastern Conference to have earned a qualifying spot on each discipline. Knight and senior Courtney Clark will compete in the final contest on Saturday, platform.
Eight UK swimmers competed in nine preliminary events on Friday morning, while junior Seidt was the only Wildcat of the nine swimmers to earn a finals appearance. Senior Madison Winstead recorded a season-best swim in the 100 breast on a 59.89 time stamp.
In the swimming division, only the top 16 finishers from the preliminary round move on to the finals round. In finals, the top eight finishers will earn a podium finish and are pegged as NCAA First-Team All-Americans. The next nine through sixteen finishers are considered NCAA Honorable Mention All-Americans. It applies to individual and relay events.
In the diving division, only the top eight finishers from the preliminary round move on to the finals round, while the next eight finishers compete in a consolation round. The same NCAA All-America standards still apply.
The NCAA Championships will resume with the final day Saturday, with the preliminary bouts beginning at 10 a.m. ET and the finals bouts beginning at 6 p.m. ET. A full schedule can be found here.
Fans are encouraged to refer to the Meet Central page for the most up to date information, including a psych sheet, the schedule, live results, final results, broadcast information, and ticket and parking information.
ESPN will provide live linear coverage for both Friday and Saturday finals on ESPNU, as well as digital coverage on ESPN3 for Wednesday and Thursday evening finals. Events not streamed by ESPN will be available to watch here.
For the latest on the Kentucky swimming and diving program, follow @UKSwimDive on Twitter and on Instagram, on Facebook and on the web at UKathletics.com.
– GO CATS –
For more information contact:
Cami Moore
