#11 Vols Swim Away From Kentucky To Win Season Series

Friday, January 15

Knoxville, TN

3 PM

University of Tennessee

Kentucky - Men

January 15, 2021 | Swimming & Diving

Results Photo Gallery

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Winning 13 of 16 events Friday at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center, No. 11 Tennessee dominated Kentucky en route to a 216-84 victory and its second win over the Wildcats this season.

"We preach to our guys about taking the fight to the other team," associate head coach Lance Asti said. "They did that today. One hundred percent."

UT set the tone early on as it opened the meet with a 1-2-3-4 finish in the 200 medley relay. The Vols' A-relay of Harrison Lierz, Michael Houlie, Kayky Mota and Scott Scanlon combined to swim a 1:26.30. Tennessee finished the meet with five 1-2-3 finishes and four 1-2-3-4 finishes.

Mota and Seth Thompson-Bailey led the charge Friday, winning two individual events apiece. Mota took home wins in the 100 and 200 butterfly, swimming a 46.44 and 1:45.22, respectively. Both times for the Sao Paulo, Brazil, native are new meet records.

Thompson-Bailey won the 100 and 200 freestyle with times of 44.29 and 1:37.06. The junior anchored UT's winning 200 freestyle relay, posting a split of 20.03.

"You could see the skill work Kayky and Seth have been putting in," Asti said. "Everything they have been doing in practice manifested itself in competition today. I thought Seth split his races exceptionally well and swam with a lot of confidence in the back half of his races. Kayky has been taking control of his races all season and continued to do that."

A trio of Vol newcomers earned wins against the Wildcats as Jordan Tiffany, Lyubomir Epitropov and Rafael Ponce de Leon Castilla won three consecutive races. Tiffany won the 200 backstroke in 1:46.82, while Epitropov got to the wall first in the 200 breaststroke at 1:56.41. Epitropov's 200 breast time set a new meet record.

Ponce de Leon Castilla turned in a 4:25.70 to finish first in the 500 freestyle.

Matthew Wade picked up a win for the Big Orange on the 1-meter springboard, scoring 388.48. Over his last two competitions, Wade has earned three wins for UT.

"It was a really nice win for Matt on 1-meter," diving coach Dave Parrington said. "Kentucky is a strong squad, very deep and kind of similar to us. It was great to have some really good competition and that's what we need. To see Matt pull it out on the final dive of the competition was exciting. He was a little bit back at one point, but come on strong for the win."

UP NEXT
The Vols and Lady Vols will be back in action January 23 against No. 2/3 Georgia as Tennessee closes out the dual meet season.

QUOTABLES

Associate Head Coach Lance Asti

On the boost the team gets from such a strong performance against another SEC program…
"The focus right now is getting ready for championship season and refining our skills and refining our mentality. A win like this certainly gives us confidence, but the mindset right now is all about being ready for the SEC Championships."

Diving Coach Dave Parrington

On Jacob Reasor exhibitioning on platform…
"I was very happy with Jacob Reasor, another good job on platform from him. Trying to shore up a spot on the SEC team for himself, his tower was good and his 1-meter was solid."

Results
200 Medley Relay – Tennessee – 1:26.30
1000 Freestyle – Jakob Clark (UK) – 9:10.20
200 Freestyle – Seth Thompson-Bailey (TENN) – 1:37.06
100 Backstroke – Benjamin Blevins-Boor (TENN) – 48.19
100 Breaststroke – Jarel Dillard (TENN) – 52.76
200 Butterfly – Kayky Mota (TENN) – 1:45.22
50 Freestyle – Scott Scanlon (TENN) – 19.87
1-Meter Diving – Matthew Wade (TENN) – 338.48
100 Freestyle – Seth Thompson-Bailey (TENN) – 44.29
200 Backstroke – Jordan Tiffany (TENN) – 1:46.82
200 Breaststroke – Lyubomir Epitropov (TENN) – 1:56.41
500 Freestyle – Rafael Ponce de Leon Castilla (TENN) – 4:25.70
100 Butterfly – Kayky Mota (TENN) – 46.44
3-Meter Diving – Mingli Zhang (UK) – 379.58
400 IM – Kyle Barker (UK) – 3:56.99
200 Free Relay – Tennessee – 1:20.04