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Swimming and Diving Faces Road Test against SIU, Mizzou
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The
University of Kentucky swimming and diving program travels to Southern
Illinois for its first tri-meet of the season, against fellow
Southeastern Conference foe Missouri and the host Salukis.
“This
will be a great opportunity to swim against two very good teams in
Missouri and Southern Illinois,” UK head coach Lars Jorgensen said.
“We’re looking to continue to compete hard, win some more races and
build towards the rest of the season. It’s going to be a tough matchup,
but we’re excited.”
After it opened the season with perennial
powerhouses Georgia and Ohio State, UK’s challenging schedule continues
against MU and SIU. Both the Tiger men and women are coming off
14th-place finishes at the 2013 NCAA Championships, with the men’s
finish being a program best. While the Salukis did not qualify anyone
for the national championship competitions, the program boasts an
impressive 26 combined conference titles and 29 Olympians.
The
UK men are coming off a 22nd-place national finish in 2013. Senior
diver Greg Ferrucci placed fourth in all three NCAA diving events and
became the first UK diver to earn First Team All-America honors in one
season in all three diving events. The women, who sent then-sophomores
Christina Bechtel and Christa Cabot to the NCAA Championships, did not
place in 2013.
SCOUTING MISSOURI AND SOUTHERN ILLNOIS
Missouri
finished 14th at both the men’s and women’s NCAA Championships in 2013.
The finish was the best in program history for the men, while a
second-place finish by Dominique Bouchard in the 200 backstroke was the
highlight for the women’s team. The Tigers earned a combined seven
First Team All-America honors.
At the SEC Championships, the MU
men claimed fifth place, while the women came in eighth, just ahead of
UK’s ninth-place showing.
While Southern Illinois did not
qualify anyone for the NCAA Championships, the women placed third in
their conference, while the men posted a fifth-place finish at the MAC
Championships.
The Tigers are coached by Greg Rhodenbaugh, in his fourth season. Rick Walker is in his 27th year as head coach of the Salukis.
LAST TIME OUT: VS. OHIO STATE
On
the strength of victories in all four diving competitions, Kentucky won
nine events, but lost its home opener to Ohio State on Oct 11 in front
of a capacity crowd at the Lancaster Aquatics Center.
The UK men
lost 176-122, while the women fell to OSU by a 195-104 margin. The meet
marked the home debut for first-year head coach Lars Jorgensen.
Senior
Greg Ferrucci and junior Christa Cabot both swept the diving events,
with top scores in the 1- and 3-meter springboard competitions.
Ferrucci has won all four diving events he has competed in to open the
season, while Cabot has claimed victories in three of her four events.
Junior
Christina Bechtel also posted two wins, in the women’s 100 and 200 yard
butterfly. Senior Maclin Simpson notched a first-place finish in the
men’s 200 yard butterfly for his second win of the season. Eric Bruck
and Lucas Gerotto, both seniors, rounded out UK’s victories with wins
in the men’s 50 freestyle and the men’s 100 yard butterfly,
respectively.
A full recap from the home-opener against Ohio State can be found here.
UP NEXT: AT INDIANA, VS. TENNESSEE
UK
returns to the road next Friday against Indiana and Tennessee in
Bloomington, Ind. The tri-meet between the SEC and Big Ten teams will
begin at 2 p.m. ET on Nov. 1.
SEC HONORS BECHTEL, FERRUCCI
Junior
swimmer Christina Bechtel and senior diver Greg Ferrucci were honored
by the Southeastern Conference with the season’s first Athlete the Week
awards on Oct. 15.
Ferrucci, who has won all four diving events
to open the year, was named the SEC’s Male Diver of the Week for the
eighth time in his career. Bechtel earned her first career SEC Female
Swimmer of the Week honor after a two-win performance Oct. 11 against
Ohio State.
Ferrucci recorded wins in all four competitions to
start the season. At Georgia on Sept. 25, he notched victories in the
1- and 3-meter dives, while the senior swept the diving events again at
home against Ohio State on Oct. 11.
On the strengths of two wins
in the butterfly against Ohio State, Bechtel was ranked second
nationally in the 100-yard butterfly after she finished first with a
time of 54.34. Bechtel, an NCAA qualifier last year, also posted a win
in the 200-yard butterfly against the Buckeyes.
THE JORGENSEN FILE
Lars
Jorgensen is in his first season as head coach at Kentucky after
serving as an associate head coach for the Wildcats last season. A 1988
Olympian and standout student-athlete at the University of Tennessee,
Jorgensen served as interim head coach for his alma mater in 2011-12.
He also spent time on the coaching staffs at Toledo and LSU.
As
a student-athlete at UT, Jorgensen holds the school record in the 1,000
freestyle, set in 1992. He earned a silver medal at the 1993 SEC
Championships in the 1,650 freestyle and helped the Volunteers to a
third-place finish.
At the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul,
Jorgensen placed ninth in the 1,500-meter freestyle. His brother Daniel
also competed in 1988, making them the second pair of brothers to
participate in an Olympics. Daniel returned to the Olympics in 1992 and
won a bronze medal as part of the 800 freestyle team, while their
father, Niels, was an Olympic wrestler for Denmark.
RETURNING STARPOWER
UK
returns all four student-athletes that competed at the 2013 Men’s and
Women’s NCAA Championships. Senior diver Greg Ferrucci is coming off
fourth-place finishes in all three NCAA events and became the first
diver to earn First-Team All-America honors in one season on the 1
meter, 3 meter and platform. Senior John Fox and juniors Christina
Bechtel and Christa Cabot made their first NCAA appearance in 2013.
2013-14 CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED
Seniors
John Fox and Maclin Simpson and junior Michael Christian were named
captains of the UK men’s team, while juniors Christina Bechtel, Christa
Cabot and Lindsay Hill were announced as captains of the women’s squad.
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