Tennessee Knocks Off Unbeaten Kentucky, 178.5 – 121.5

Thursday, January 14

Knoxville, TN

3 PM

University of Tennessee

Kentucky - Women

Tennessee Knocks Off Unbeaten Kentucky, 178.5 – 121.5

January 14, 2021 | Swimming & Diving

Results Photo Gallery

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Lady Vols swimming and diving team knocked off unbeaten No. 10 Kentucky Thursday at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center, defeating the Wildcats 178.5 – 121.5.

Despite winning five of the first eight events, Kentucky trailed Tennessee after the first diving break thanks in part to the Lady Vols' depth.

"Kentucky is a great team, this was a very competitive effort from both squads," associate head coach Ashley Jahn said. "I am really happy with how our team performed overall. The second half of our meet was better than the first half, but that's what our team does. We take what we are learning and continue to adjust."

UT showcased its depth in the 1,000 yard freestyle as Kristen Stege, Amanda Nunan and Claire Nguyen led the Lady Vols to a 1-2-3 finish in the event. Stege got her hand on the wall first in 9:46.99, setting a new personal best.

Nunan touched second with a time of 9:47.13, while Nguyen hit third at 9:57.64.

"That distance group is doing a phenomenal job," Jahn said. "They are coming off a great couple weeks of work and they have a really clear vision of what they want this portion of the season to look like. Not only for their events, but for the team as a whole. Today, they got to show off those skills and really get the team energized. It's a big deal to finish 1-2-3 in an event and they did that really well."

Kentucky won the first two events out of the diving break, but Tennessee shut the door and closed out the meet winning the final six events. Along the way, Stege picked up her second win of the day in the 500 free. The sophomore stopped the clocked in 4:48.27 to set a new meet record.

Freshman Mona McSharry turned in a pair of winning performances, taking the top spot in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke. The Dublin, Ireland native won the 100 breast in a time of 59.91, which broke the previous meet record held by Olympian Molly Hannis.

McSharry won the 200 breast in 2:12.27.

Senior Ana Celaya Hernandez had two strong performances on the diving boards Thursday, winning on 1-meter and placing second on 3-meter. Hernandez won the 1-meter springboard event with a score of 291.90. Her score of 287.48 on 3-meter earned her a second place finish behind UK's Kyndal Knight, the reigning SEC champion on the 3-meter board.

Grace Cable finished third for UT on both 1-meter and 3-meter with scores of 267.15 and 281.63, respectively.

"Today's 1-meter win for Ana was a very good win," diving coach Dave Parrington said. "Kentucky's Kyndal Knight is an excellent diver and a SEC champion. That's a really, really good win and Ana is extremely deserving of that and we're very proud of her."

UP NEXT
The men's team hits the competition water Friday against Kentucky as they host the Wildcats at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center.

QUOTABLES

Associate Head Coach Ashley Jahn
On making adjustments during the meet…
"We were knocking the rust off in the first part of the meet. We weren't executing some of our skills as well as we could. We were letting things happen instead of taking charge. The team did a really nice job of recognizing that and making the adjustment."

On Kristen Stege and Mona McSharry winning two events…
"Mona and Kristen are both incredibly competitive and I think today they executed their plan. They executed at a level of competitiveness that they continue to raise higher and higher. They both had a vision for today and they weren't going to settle for anything less."

Diving Coach Dave Parrington
On the diving team's effort on both boards...
"I was pretty happy with the rest, we were a little shaky on 3-meter to be honest with you. There was a rust factor for Grace and Emily Ann Wolfson, neither competed at Georgia and haven't competed since mid-November. We got better on 1-meter and this is another competition under our belts. Across the board, I felt pretty positive about the whole meet. It was a good strong day."

RESULTS
200 Medley Relay – Kentucky – 1:39.41
1000 Freestyle – Kristen Stege (TENN) – 9:46.99
200 Freestyle – Riley Gaines (UK) – 1:46.81
100 Backstroke – Caitlin Brooks (UK) – 53.27
100 Breaststroke – Mona McSharry (TENN) – 59.91
200 Butterfly – Izzy Gati (UK) – 2:00.45
50 Freestyle – Bailey Grinter (TENN) – 22.76
3-Meter Diving – Kyndal Knight (UK) – 354.53
100 Freestyle – Riley Gaines (UK) – 49.74
200 Backstroke – Sophie Sorenson (UK) – 1:56.91
200 Breaststroke – Mona McSharry (TENN) – 2:12.27
500 Freestyle – Kristen Stege (TENN) – 4:48.27
100 Butterfly – Trude Rothrock (TENN) – 53.38
1-Meter Diving – Ana Celaya Hernandez (TENN) – 291.90
400 IM – Alexis Yager (TENN) – 4:13.61
400 Free Relay – Tennessee – 3:21.09