diving

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.

The Cardinals are coming off a dominant performance in their last home meet on January 5, where they swept Missouri with the men winning 205-89 and the women winning 203-96. The team was led by multiple first-place finishes, with standout performances from Christiana Regenauer and Kim Herkle on the women’s side and Denis Petrashov and Guy Brooks on the men’s side.

In the women’s competition, Kentucky came up just short, losing to Alabama with a score of 163-156. On the other hand, Alabama claimed victory in the men’s competition with a score of 175-144.

Freshman diver Thomas Dowling also made his NCAA debut during the event and scored 238 points on the platform, showing great potential for the future.

In the 400 medley relay, Charlie Crush, Denis Petrashov, Dalton Lowe, and Michael Eastman clocked a combined time of 3:03.67.