Kentucky divers Hamperian, Masterton claim silver medals at SEC championships

The University of Kentucky women were tied for first place after Tuesday’s opening night of the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at Columbia, Mo.

Led by Lafayette High School graduate Rebecca Hamperian’s runner-up finish in 1-meter diving, the Wildcats scored 154 points.

Hamperian, a junior, won the silver medal and earned 28 points for the UK team with a personal-best score of 333.75, second only to Florida senior Kahlia Warner’s 346.10. Hamperian’s score was UK’s second best of all time behind Taryn Ignacio’s 2007 score of 337.60.

Kentucky’s Courtney Clark, Kailey Francetic and Maddie Gordon placed 12th, 13th and 20th in the 1-meter.

Click here to view Tuesday’s results

The UK men, tied for eighth place with 114 points, also picked up a diving silver medal. Freshman Seb Masterton finished second on the 3-meter springboard with a personal-best 408.10 points. Texas A&M freshman Sam Thornton won the gold with 411.15 points. Masterton’s score broke Greg Ferrucci’s UK freshman record of 400.55 set in 2011. Noah Richter also scored 3-meter points for the Cats with a 19th-place finish.

“Our divers were fantastic,” head coach Lars Jorgensen said. “Becca (Hamperian) and Seb (Masterton) were both really, really good. And the girls’ relays were really phenomenal. …Overall, a fantastic day for the Cats. Like I said, Ted (Hautau) did a great job with the divers, and I couldn’t be more pleased.”

Kentucky’s women finished sixth in the 800 freestyle relay with a team of Danielle Galyer, Geena Freriks, Kendal Casey and Haley McInerny posting a UK record time of 7:05.68. That same group, with Kendra Crew in place of Kendal Casey, took eighth place in the 200 medley relay in 1:38.58.

The UK men finished sixth in the 800 freestyle relay in 6:24.65 with a quartet of Sean Gunn, Scott Crosthwaite, Kyle Higgins and Isaac Jones. The Wildcats were 10th in the 200 medley relay in 1:27.18 with a squad of Walker Thaning, George Greenhalgh, Matt Roman and Cobe Garcia.

The meet continues through Saturday at the University of Missouri.

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Kentucky divers Hamperian, Masterton claim silver medals at SEC championships."