Riley Gaines leads UK women’s swim team to rout of U of L on Senior Day

The University of Kentucky swimming and diving team closed out the regular season on Saturday against Louisville on Senior Day in the Lancaster Aquatic Center in Lexington. A total of 14 UK seniors were honored before the meet.

For the fourth straight year, the UK women’s program dominated the Cardinals. The 10th-ranked Wildcats defeated No. 19 Louisville 200.5-99.5.

The final score marked UK’s largest triumph over U of L in the Lars Jorgensen era, as the team won 13 of 16 events.

The Kentucky men’s team lost to the eighth-ranked Louisville men, 188-111.

Riley Gaines paced the women’s team, winning all four of her events: one relay (the 200 medley) and three individual races (the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle).

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

Gaines, a Nashville native, also recorded a personal best in the 50 freestyle (22.52). It beat her previous personal record by more than two-tenths of a second, which allowed her to advance five spots in the UK women’s team’s all-time top-10 list, sitting in fourth in that event.

SEC Championships

When: Feb. 17-20

Where: Mizzou Aquatic Center in Columbia, Mo.