NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Spring semester classes don’t start on the Vanderbilt campus until Monday, but that won’t stop the Commodore swimming program from beginning the second half of its schedule prior to the weekend. Vandy will play host to Kentucky Friday at 12:30 p.m. at Centennial Sportsplex in the first of three dual meets at home to close out the regular season.
“I’m feeling good, positive energy being at home knowing that we will have three meets here to finish the regular season before the SEC Championships. I think there’s a lot of excitement getting to race at home since we weren’t able to do that first semester,” head coach Jeremy Organ said. “We need to work on developing confidence in the race strategies that we will need for the end of the season, there may be some fatigue so we want to focus on getting the mental part of it locked in so that the mental and the physical can come together in the end.
“This begins our final push for this season, spirits are up. I think we are ready to take care of our business.”
Most recently, three Dores—Libby Gilbert, Aubrey Hull and Kailia Utley—competed at the Toyota U.S. Open Championship the first week of December. At the team’s last meet of the fall semester, Vandy saw four school records fall as individuals posted 18 marks that rank among the top 10 on the program’s all-time performer list as well as 45 season-best times at the Gamecock Invitational hosted by South Carolina Nov. 20-22.
In addition to Hull setting a new standard in the 100 backstroke in both prelims and finals, Mercedes Traba and Reagan Mathieson broke previous records in the 500 and 100 freestyle, respectively. Emily Constable set a freshman record in the 100 breaststroke as well at the three-day meet, with Mathieson also moving into the top five all-time at Vandy in the 200 free and 200 individual medley and Traba climbing on the all-time performer list in the 200 butterfly.
Quinlan Hinerfeld entered Vanderbilt’s top 10 all-time in the 100 and 200 back at that competition, and Bailey Ratzburg moved into the top 10 list in the 400 IM as well.
This will mark the first dual meet between the Commodores and Wildcats since Vandy travelled to Lexington on Oct. 16, 2020.
