Kentucky swimming and diving showed impressive performances despite falling to No. 8/15 Louisville in a dual meet at the Ralph Wright Natatorium on Saturday. Both the men’s and women’s teams put up a fight, but ultimately the Cardinals came out on top with scores of 210-90 and 209.5-88.5, respectively.
Sophomore Ryan Merani, who was named Co-SEC Swimmer of the Week earlier this month, continued to shine with victories in the 200 butterfly and 200 IM. He also set new program top-ten times in the 100 and 200 fly events. Merani’s time of 1:42.50 in the 200 butterfly moved him up to second all-time in the program’s history, just behind Mason Wilby. In addition to his individual successes, Merani scored the most points for the Wildcats, matching the total of Louisville’s Jackson Millard and Christiana Regenauer.
Freshman Carson Hick also had a standout performance, becoming just the third Wildcat ever to go sub-nine minutes in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 8:58.01. Another freshman, Lance Johnson, improved his breaststroke marks and now sits at eighth on the program’s all-time list with a time of 1:58.24 in the 200 breast.
On the women’s side, Grace Frericks led the way for Kentucky with a victory in the 200 backstroke, marking her second consecutive win in the event. Caroline Benda set a new career-best in the 1000 freestyle, finishing in first place with a time of 9:45.40, which is now the fourth fastest in program history. Megan Drumm secured a one-two finish for the Wildcats in the event with her time of 9:53.81.
Senior Anna Havens Rice achieved a new NCAA B-Standard in the women’s 200 butterfly, clocking in at 1:57.60 and finishing second in the event.
In diving, Sam Duncan continued his winning streak on the men’s 1-meter springboard with a score of 318.83. Abby Devereaux also had a strong showing for the women, finishing second on both springboards.
Looking ahead, Kentucky will host Cincinnati for their final dual meet of the 2023-24 season on February 2. The meet will also serve as Senior Day for the Wildcats, with a senior ceremony scheduled before the competition.
Overall, Kentucky swimming and diving put on an impressive performance against Louisville, with multiple swimmers setting new program top-ten times and achieving personal bests. Although they did not come out on top, their strong performances are a promising sign for the remainder of the season.
