Falemana Tuufui Named SEC Swim Freshman of the Week – UK Athletics

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – As introduced by the Southeastern Conference workplace on Tuesday afternoon, Falemana Tuufui of Kentucky has picked up the SEC Male Freshman of the Week honor, his first on the season. This is the primary SEC Freshman of the Week honor for the Wildcats since senior Ryan Merani again in January of 2023.

Tuufui, a local of Briey, France, has been in Kentucky for slightly below three months and is already making waves out and in of the pool. With three collegiate competitions beneath his belt, Tuufui has proved to be among the many finest within the nation, with the 18th quickest 50 free time within the nation to date.

This previous week, Tuufui confirmed out in opposition to the nation’s No. 12 males’s staff, Louisville, within the rivaled in-state matchup. Starting off the meet for the Cats, Tuufui was the anchor within the 200 medley relay, which included Lysander Osman, Esteban Nunez Del Prado, and Adomas Gatulis. As the anchor he swam an astonishing 18.54 break up, setting a program document for the quickest 200 medley relay in program historical past.

He additionally swept the 50 and 100 free occasions, smashing one other college document that had beforehand been set in 2020 by Peter Wetzler, in 19.25 seconds. He turned the quickest Wildcat in class historical past with that fifty free swim and has seen unbelievable occasions this yr within the blue and white, being a 2x program document holder in simply his third collegiate meet.

Tuufui and the remainder of the Wildcats will return to the pool for his or her mid-season matchup at Ohio State on Nov. 18-21 up in Columbus. The subsequent residence meet for Kentucky swim and dive will probably be after the brand new yr, on Jan. 9 in opposition to Notre Dame.

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