Gaines Sets UK Record, Lowe Splits 20.0 Fly, As Kentucky and Louisville Split

Louisville v. Kentucky

• January 23, 2021
• Lancaster Aquatic Center, Lexington, KY
• SCY
• Dual Meet Format
• Full Results
• Scores:
  • Women: Kentucky 200.5, Louisville 99.5
  • Men: Louisville 188, Kentucky 111

The Louisville Cardinals headed across the state to face the University of Kentucky Wildcats in some relatively-rare interconference action today. Both teams teams suited up, and the Kentucky women and the Louisville men emerged victorious, with some races highlighting both sides of the competition.

Women’s Meet

The #10 Louisville women had a few notable absences, including Gabi Albiero, Mariia Astashkina, Arina Openysheva, but even those three probably wouldn’t have been enough to turn the tide of the meet, as the #12 Wildcats were dominant in a 200.5-99.5 victory.

Despite the eventual lopsided score, both teams came out swinging in the opening event, the 200 medley relay. Kentucky’s team of Caitlin Brooks (24.31), Bailey Bonnett (27.33), Izzy Gati (23.38) and Riley Gaines (21.73) touched first in 1:36.75, moving up to #5 in the nation so far this season in this event, with Louisville putting up the 8th-fastest time this season with a 1:37.50.

Wildcat junior Riley Gaines was the big star of the day, as she swept the three shorter freestyle events. After anchoring Kentucky’s winning relay, Gaines got going in the individual evens with a two second win in the 200 free, touching in 1:44.06. That would make her the 5th-fastest women in the nation this year, but she’s already the 3rd-fastest with her 1:43.68 from the Mizzou Invite in November. Gaines came back just a few events later to win the 50 free in 22.52, setting a new lifetime best. She wrapped up her day right after the break by setting a new Kentucky school record in the 100 free, touching in 48.42 to move up to #9 in that event nation-wide this season.

Gaines was the only multiple individual event winner of the day, with all seven of the rest of Kentucky’s indivudal wins coming from seven different women.

Beth McNeese took the 1000 free, winning by nearly 8 seconds with a time of 9:45.79. After Gaines won the 200 free, Caitlin Brooks kept the Wildcats’ win streak going by leading a 1-3 sweep of the 100 back with a time of 51.99, less than half a second off of her season best of 51.56 from the Mizzou Invite. In Kentucky’s other win before the break, Izzy Gati ran down Louisville’s Alena Kraus on the back half of the 200 fly, winning 1:54.25 to 1:54.76.

The Wildcats didn’t let up after the break, winning all but one of the remaining individual events.  Sophie Sorenson took the 200 back in 1:52.63, just 0.14s ahead of Brooks and setting a new season-best and moving to #9 in the nation. Gillian Davey won the 200 breast by over two seconds, touching in 2:07.67 and crack the top ten in the NCAA this season.

Kaylee Williams led a Kentucky 1-3 sweep of the 500 free, touching in 4:44.77, and Lauren Poole wrapped up the individual competition with a 1:57.01 win in the 200 IM. Both Williams and Poole hit season-bests in their respective events.

The Wildcat women were on fire in their home pool, and it’s hard to gauge what effect Louisville’s missing swimmers would’ve had if they were present. Hypotheticals aside, the Cardinals actually swam pretty solidly, also hitting a number of season-best times, although they only came away with three wins.

Kaylee Wheeler was the first Cardinal to pick up a win on the day, as she was the only woman to get under a minute in the 100 breast, touching in 59.99, with teammate Morgan Friesen taking 2nd in 1:00.46. While Kraus just missed out on the 200 fly win, she did earn the victory in the 100 fly, touching just ahead of Kentucky’s Brooks with a 52.94.

Louisville closed out the meet with a 3:18.17 win in the 400 free relay, highlighted by Christiana Regenauer‘s 48.6 anchor leg.

Men’s Recap

The score was almost as lopsided on the men’s side as it was on the women’s, although with the teams reversed, as the #7 Louisville men won 188-111.

Louisville jumped out to the lead early on, as Michtell Whyte (21.50), Evgenii Somov (23.79), Nick Albiero (20.42) and Haridi Sameh (19.15) combined for a 1:24.86. The Cardinals actually took the top three spots in this relay, and Dalton Lowe threw down a 20.01 fly leg on their ‘B’ relay. On paper, that would seem to increase the probability that Lowe could get bumped up to ‘A’ relay for ACCs/NCAAs, and the Cardinals could use Albiero relay on another relay, probably the 200 free.

In stark contrast to the women’s side, a total of five men doubled up to win ten of the twelve individual events. Once again, Louisville was led by the same four men who made up its winning 200 medley relay. Whyte swept the backstrokes, going 46.57 to lead a 1-3 sweep in the 100, then coming back after the break to win the 200 in 1:43.55, with Louisville again sweep. Somov won both breaststrokes, going 52.43/1:56.11. Albiero won the 200 fly in 1:41.98, just a hair away from his season-best of 1:41.84 that ranks him 7th in the nation in this season, then won the 100 in 46.12. Finally, Sameh swept the sprint freestyles, winning the 50 in 19.56 as four Louisville swimmers touched the wall before any Kentucky men did, then leading another 1-3 sweep in the 100 free with a 43.76.

2020 ACC champion Colton Paulson won the 200 free in 1:34.91, then split 42.93, as he joined Michael Eastman (43.60 leadoff), Albiero (42.64), and Sameh (43.09) to win the 400 free in 2:52.26 to close out the meet.

Kentucky picked up three wins, two of them courtesy of Jakob Clark. The Wildcat sophomore swept the distance events, first winning the 1000 free by over three seconds in 9:01.99, then taking the 500 free towards the end of the meet with a 4:24.43. Mason Wilby was Kentucky’s only other event winner, and he led a 1-3 Kentucky sweep of the 200 IM with a time of 1:46.80.

Kentucky Release

LEXINGTON, Ky. –  For the fourth straight year, the Kentucky women’s swimming and diving program posted a dominant performance over a ranked Louisville camp, as No. 10 Kentucky defeated No. 19 Louisville at the Lancaster Aquatic Center on Saturday afternoon, 200.5-99.5. The final score marked UK’s largest triumph over UofL in the Lars Jorgensen era, as the team won 13 of 16 possible events.

The RV Kentucky men’s team lost to a dominant No. 8 Louisville men’s team, 188-111, winning five of 16 possible events.

Riley Gaines paced the women’s team in the pool on Saturday afternoon, winning all four of her events – one relay event (200 med-r) and three individual events (50, 100, 200 fr).

In the process, the junior reset the school record in the 100 freestyle race, touching the wall in a swift 48.42, which also ranks as the eighth-fastest time in the nation to date. Her time in the event is .04 faster than her previous career best and school record (48.46), which she recorded at the Mizzou Invitational in mid-November.

Gaines, a Nashville, Tennessee, native, also recorded a personal best in the 50 freestyle, earning a mark of 22.52. It beats her previous personal record by more than two-tenths of a second, which allowed her to advance five spots in the women’s all-time top-10 performance list, sitting in fourth.

First Place Finishes

The diving squad dominated the dual meet, earning the top score in each event – men’s and women’s 1- and 3-meter springboard.

Kyndal Knight, the reigning SEC Champion on 3m, swept the women’s events, winning both springboards. On 1m, Knight scored 310.35 points, less than four points off her career high and sixth-best score in school records (313.60). On 3m, the junior rallied 333.60 points, her third-best score on the board this season, but still more than 20 points off her personal record (355.58), which she recorded at then-No. 11 Alabama in mid-December.

Knight has won first place 10 out of 12 times this season, and she has earned first or second place 11 out of 12 times this season. The North Carolina native has won four of five appearances on the 1- and 3-meter springboards, respectively, and she has won two of two appearances on platform, meanwhile, she has competed against top talent in the nation including Alabama, Louisville, Missouri and Tennessee. Knight concluded the regular season having reset her career best on every discipline this season.

Jakob Clark had a phenomenal meet, beginning with the first individual race. The sophomore earned a career best in the 1,000 freestyle for the second straight meet, this time touching the wall in 9:01.99. He came into No. 11 Tennessee last week with a career best of 9:11.94, but snapped the personal record in 9:10.20 in Knoxville. This time, Clark rallied a time of 9:01.99, nearly ten full seconds faster than he has ever swum the event.

In the process of earning first place with his time, Clark also recorded the 13th-fastest time in the nation.

Proving their depth and versatility, the women’s team had six different swimmers earn first place on a time that was either a season best or career best that also ranks in the nation’s top-12 times to date. Those Wildcats and events include:

Beth McNeese (1,000 freestyle, 9:45.79, 3rd in the nation)
Izzy Gati (200 butterfly, 1:54.25, seventh in the nation)
Riley Gaines (100 freestyle, 48.42, eighth in the nation)
Sophie Sorenson (200 backstroke, 1:52.63, ninth in the nation)
Gillian Davey (200 breaststroke, 2:07.67, 10th in the nation)
Lauren Poole (200 IM, 1:57.01, 12th in the nation)

Once again, Chase Lane and Danny Zhang went tit-for-tat on the springboards, splitting the top finishes. Lane finished victoriously on the 1-meter springboard with 348.68 points, while Zhang finished victoriously on the 3-meter spring with 414.45.

To conclude the regular season, Lane has earned first or second place seven times in nine total events, while Zhang has earned first or second place 10 times in 12 total events. Meanwhile, the diving group has competed against Alabama, Louisville, Missouri and Tennessee on the boards this season.

Kentucky swimming and diving won’t take the pool again until mid-February, when the women’s team and the diving squad compete in the 2021 Southeastern Conference Championship in Athens, Georgia, and Columbia, Missouri, respectively, February 17-20. Following that, the men’s team will compete in Columbia, Missouri, February 24-27.

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.

Louisville Release

The No. 8-ranked University Louisville men’s swimming and diving team took down rival RV Kentucky 188-11 but the No. 19-ranked Cardinal women fell to No. 1–ranked 200.5-99.5 Saturday afternoon in Lexington.

UofL had outstanding individual performances from several Cardinals .  Kaylee Wheeler won the 100 breast and the 400 Free Relay. Alena Kraus took the 100 fly and the 400 free Relay.  Nicolas Albiero won both flys and both relays. Haridi Sameh won the 50-free, the 100-free and was on both winning relays. Multiple event winners also included Mitchell Whyte, who won the 100 and 200 back and the 200 Medley Relay. Senior Evgenii Somov won both breaststroke events and was on the winning 200 Medley Relay as well.

Here is a race-by-race breakdown:

UofL touched second in the 200 Medley Relay as Ashlyn Schoof (25.02), Kaylee Wheeler (26.74), Christiana Regenauer(23.57) Alena Kraus (22.17) combined to put up a 1:37.50. The Louisville men run away with the opening 200 Medley Relay, taking the top three spots. The winning foursome of Mitchell Whyte (21.50), Evgenii Somov (23.79), Nick Albiero (20.42) and Haridi Sameh (19.15) put up a 1:24.86.  The B-relay of Nikos Sofianidis (21.77), Tanner Cummings(24.69), Dalton Lowe (20.01) and Mihalis Deliyiannis (19.74) were second in 1:26.21.  The C-Relay took third in 1:28.32.

UK’s Beth McNeese left the field in her wake with the winning time of 9:45.79. The Cardinals’ Maddie Luther touched third in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 9:58.84 while Duda Sumida posted a 10:16.73 for sixth. Hayden Curley was second in the men’s 1000 freestyle, boarding a 9:05.87. TC Smith was fourth in 9:09.53 and Ilia Sibirtsev was sixth in 9:16.60. UK’s Jakob Clark won the event in 9:01.99.

The Cardinals swept the top two spots in the men’s 200 freestyle as Colton Paulson posted the winning time of 1:34.91 and Michael Eastman was into the wall second with a time of 1:35.61. Riley Gaines won the women’s 200 free with a 1:44.06 for the Cats. Diana Dunn was the top Cardinal finisher in the 200 freestyle with a fourth-place time of 1:47.87.

The Cardinals swept the top three spots in the men’s 100 backstroke led by Mitchell Whyte (46.47), Nikos Sofianidis (46.98) and Jack Wever (48.22).  Tatiana Salcutan touched fourth in the 100 back with a time of 53.98 for the Cardinals. Teammate Tristen Ulett was right behind her with a 54.05. Kentucky won that event when Caitlin Brooks turned in a winning time of 51.99

Louisville took he top spots in the women’s 100 breaststroke as Kaylee Wheeler stops the clock with the winning time of 59.99 and teammate Morgan Friesen was in her wake with a 1:00.46. Louisville takes first, second, and fourth in the men’s 100 breast led by Evgenii Somov’s blazing time of 52.43. Aidan Kreiley was second in 55.46 and Tanner Cummings put up a 55.71.

In the 200 butterfly, Nick Albiero won with a 1:41.98, besting the field by three seconds. Louisville teammate Greyson Alarcon was fourth in 1:47.41 and Gabriel Orbe was 6th in 1:50.95. For the Cardinal women, Alena Kraus was into the wall in 1:54.76 for second and Abby Hay boarded a 1:57.43 for third.

The Cardinal sprint crew was hard to beat today as UofL’s Haridi Sameh threw down the winning time of 19.56 in the 50 freestyle. Teammate Mihalis Deliyiannis was second with a time of 19:93 and Caleb Duncan was third in 19.98. Christiana Regenauer was out-touched by 1/100th of a second in the 50 free, posting a 22.53 for second. Katie Schorrput up a 23.44.

Haridi Sameh took first in the 100 freestyle, getting his hands on the wall in 43.76, Colton Paulson was second in 43.93 and Michael Eastman was third in 43.99 for another Cardinals sweep. In the women’s 100 free, Kaylee Wheelertouched third with a time of 50.38 and Katie Schorr was fourth in 50.42.

Mitchell Whyte made it a backstroke sweep with his win the 200 to go with his 100 gold. He finished with a time of 1:43.55 for first. Jack Wever was second in 1:45.37 and Nikos Sofianidis was third in 1:45.63. For the women, Tatiana Salcutan touched third in the 200 back with a time of 1:55.36.

In the 200 breast, Evgenii Somov won with a time of 1:56.11 to make it a breaststroke sweep. For the women’s race, Morgan Friesen touched second with a 2:09.77 for the Cardinals.

Maddie Luther was the top Cardinal finisher in the 500 free with a time of 4:52.12 and a fourth-place finish. In the men’s 500 freestyle, Ilia Sibirtsev took second with a time of 4:25.47. Hayden Curley was fourth, going 4:28.07.

In women’s 3M diving, Else Praasterink was third with a 265.13 score. Abbie Erickson boards a 227.63 and Abigail Andrews puts up a 218.70. Daniel Pinto puts up a third-place score of 300.60 on the 1M board. Kivanc Gur posts a 282.53 and Adam Sneden had a 282.45. Daniel Pinto ranks second in the 3M diving, posting a score of 402.83 which set a new school record. Kivanc Gur had a score of 318.75 and Adam Sneden had a 270.60. In the women’s 1M diving, Kayla Wilson finished third with a score of 257.78 and Else Praasterink posted a 245.48.

Alena Kraus wom the 100 Fly with a time of 52.94 while Tristen Ulett was third with a 53.22. The Cardinals go one-two in the 100 butterfly led by Nick Albiero‘s winning time of 46.12. Dalton Lowe was in hot pursuit, touching second in 46.73.

In the 200 IM, Abby Hay was third for the Cardinals with a time of 1:58.78. On the men’s side, Jack Wever posted a time of 1:50.44, just ahead of Evgenii Somov’s 1:51.36 and Aidan Kreiley’s 1:57. 18 to finish fifth through seventh in the 200 IM.

The Louisville women won the 400 Free Relay when Alena Kraus (49.40), Kaylee Wheeler (50.05), Katie Schorr (50.08) and Christiana Regenauer (48.62) combined forces to put up a 3:18.17. The Louisville men took the top two spots in the 400 free relay. The A-relay team of Michael Eastman (43.60), Nick Albiero (42.60), Colton Paulson (42.93) and Haridi Sameh (43.09) cruised to the win in 2:52.26.  The B-relay of Kyle Worrell, Tanner Cummings, Dalton Lowe and Nikos Sofianidis put up a 2:56.04.