Here’s a glance at the 2018-2019 University of Kentucky swimming slate.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky swimming and diving impressed the Commonwealth last season posting new records and earning elite marks. As the 2018-19 period approaches, Kentucky embraces a motivating message — work together to generate winning results.
The Kentucky swimming and diving schedule features a parade of top-performing programs including Indiana and Notre Dame (Oct. 10), LSU (Oct. 23), Missouri (Nov. 1-2), the Ohio State Invitational (Nov. 15-17), Florida and Ohio State (Nov. 4-5), Louisville (Jan. 26) and Cincinnati (Feb. 1). Kentucky will host two meets at the Lancaster Aquatic Center featuring opponents LSU and Louisville, respectively.
“We are very excited about the season,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “We have a talented group of swimmers and divers that are excited about competing and contributing to the success level that we aim for. I think our depth has improved, which will help us be more competitive.”
The annual intrasquad scrimmage will inaugurate the swimming and diving season for the Wildcats on Oct. 5. Hosted at Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatic Center, it will follow the traditional Blue-White format. Unique to this event, each athlete on the Kentucky swimming and diving roster will compete. This is the first time the public will have the chance to see the Wildcats in action – while the athletes also aim to impress Jorgensen and his staff.
The Blue-White meet is the first opportunity of the season for new and returning athletes to perform in an exhibition-style setting. The coaching staff will use the Blue-White performances as a foundation for selecting regular-season competitors.
Kentucky will look to advertise their top performers in the season opener. Presumably the toughest meet on the schedule, Kentucky begins its slate in Bloomington, Indiana, facing opponents Indiana and Notre Dame.
Indiana’s men’s team finished third overall in the team standings at the 2018 NCAA Championships, while the women finished eighth. Hoosier standout Lilly King will return as a senior. King won her third-straight NCAA title in her last campaign, while also setting a record for the best breaststroke time in history – 2:02.60.
In the 2017-18 season, Notre Dame was ranked in the CSCAA top 25 for most of its season.
Two weeks following Kentucky’s first tri-meet of the season, LSU will travel north for Kentucky’s first – and only – home conference meet on the schedule. Three Tigers (one female, two male) represented the program at the 2018 NCAA Championships. Entering his junior year, diver Juan Celaya-Hernandez became a two-time NCAA First-Team All-American with two top-10 finishes in the NCAA Championships.
Kentucky will face rival Missouri Nov. 1-2. The Mizzou men swiped a fifth place finish at the 2018 SEC Championships, while the women finished sixth. Four Tigers produced top-three finishes in the conference showcase.
The Wildcat team will have a break from competition in December, kicking-off 2019 in Florida against opponents Florida and Ohio State. The Florida men’s swimming and diving team are coming off of an accomplished season, tabbing their sixth-consecutive SEC Championship in 2018.
Senior day is to follow, with the Wildcats hosting Louisville at home Jan. 24. The Wildcats manufactured a highly-anticipated win in the last meet between the schools. It was the Wildcats first victory over the Cardinals in over half a decade.
Rounding out UK’s regular season is a road meet versus Cincinnati. Kentucky will treat the meet as a final tune-up before traveling to Athens, Georgia, for the SEC Championships Feb. 19-23.
“We want to improve the level that we are performing at and make the necessary improvement to becoming a top-10 program,” Jorgensen said. “We have a team here with some talented returners that display great leadership.”
Wildcat standout Asia Seidt returns as an upperclassman on the Kentucky roster. The program hopes that Seidt will make a splash after an exceptional sophomore year. Seidt was recently selected to the USA Swimming National Team for the second-consecutive year. The Louisville native won silver at the NCAA Championships setting a school-record time (1:49.27), while also winning the consolation final of the 100 back (51.04). Seidt is a five-time First Team All-American.
Seidt became the first Wildcat in program history to win back-to-back SEC titles in a single event, winning the 200 backstroke in both 2017 and 2018.
Kentucky can also expect a top performance by sophomore Bailey Bonnett. The Pennsylvania native was named SEC Freshman Female Swimmer of the Year in 2018. In her first appearance at the SEC Championships, she posted a fourth-place finish in the 100 breast and fifth in the 200 breast. Bonnet lowered the 200-breast school record four times throughout her first year and owns the best time in program history for the 100 breast (59.48).
Senior Seb Masterton’s success on the board adds depth to the Kentucky program. Masterton earned bronze at the 2018 SEC Championships on the three-meter springboard, and he placed fourth overall on the one-meter. In the 2018 NCAA Championships, his best finish came in the one-meter springboard placing 19th. From England, Masterton took care of business last season earning All-SEC Second Team honors.
Glen Brown is another name to be familiar with. Earning the 2017 Freshman Award at Kentucky’s end of the year banquet, he proved himself with his 2017-18 performance. As a sophomore, Brown broke a school record in the SEC Championship preliminaries for the 200 IM with a time of 1:44.16.
“We are really excited about the men’s team,” Jorgensen said. “We have some key returning athletes that display a mature mindset. We will aim to move up in the SEC and hopefully make a greater presence on the national level.”
Courtesy of UK Athletics