LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas swimming team will open its season by hosting the seventh-annual Sunflower Showdown on Friday, October 3rd, with the competition beginning at 2 p.m. CT inside Capital Federal Natatorium in Topeka, Kansas.
Along with the Jayhawks, the Sunflower Showdown will feature swimmers from Barton Community College, Sterling College, and the University of Saint Mary.
"We're looking forward kicking off the 25-26 season with our annual sunflower showdown in Topeka. It's a fantastic opportunity bringing together all the Kansas colleges who sponsor the sport prepping us for the year ahead," says coach
Clark Campbell, who enters his 24th year as the Jayhawks head swimming coach.
With longtime assistant coach Jen Betz's retirement last season, the team also welcomes new assistant coach
Mary Woods-Lopez who had previously been with the University of St. Louis's swim program for the last 5 years.
The Jayhawks wrapped up the 2024-25 season with an eighth place standing at the Big 12 Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, scoring 542 points. KU also punched a ticket to the NCAA Championships, where the team overall claimed 25th place, the program's strongest national result since placing 22nd at the 1996 NCAA Championships.
The Kansas roster features five seniors this season, including captains
Caroline Blake,
Lydia Lafferty,
Hailey Farrell, and Grace Zifack (diving), while also adding nine new members to the team. Other returners include Academic All-Big 12 Rookie team members,
Taylor Cloutman,
Gabi Dyer, Anna Gearheart,
Tait Haag, Alayna Henge, Lucia Kriggs,
Maya Lambert,
Izzy Porter,
Izzy Satterlee and
Sophie Wallace.
Friday's meet will consist of 10 swimming events, beginning with the 200-yard medley relay at 2 p.m. CT. Admission will be free for any fan who wishes to attend.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Live updates will be available on the official swim and dive X (Twitter) @KUSwimDive, with live results accessible through the Meet Mobile app. Fans can also watch the meet live on Facebook
here.
ORDER OF EVENTS
Friday, October 3 (2:00)
200 Medley Relay
200 Freestyle
200 IM
50 Freestyle
100 Butterfly
100 Freestyle
500 Freestyle
100 Backstroke
100 Breaststroke
200 Free Relay