By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
Former University of Kentucky team captain and SEC Champion Geena Freriks is returning to Lexington: this time, as an assistant coach.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome back such an accomplished alumna of our program to join our coaching staff,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “Geena has proven herself as a leader in and out of the pool, and her experience will benefit our student-athletes in countless ways.”
Freriks is one of the best swimmers in program history. Three years after finishing her college career, she still holds five school records: 500 free (4:37.04), 1000 free (9:30.78), 1650 free (15:57.64), 400 free relay (48.16 split anchoring a 3:14.59), and 800 free relay (1:43.30 split anchoring a 6:56.23).
She also ranks 4th in school history in the 100 free (48.66) and 3rd in the 200 free (1:44.26), and holds long course meters program records in the 100 free, 200 free, 400 free, 800 free, and 1500 free.
In 2017, as a sophomore, she won the SEC title in the 200 free, making her the first Kentucky woman since 1995 to win that event. A year later, as a junior, she won the SEC title in the 500 free, becoming just the second Kentucky woman to ever win that race in the conference.
She qualified for the NCAA Championships in each of her four seasons at Kentucky and earned nine Honorable Mention All-America honors.
Freriks spent the last two seasons as a graduate assistant at Ball State University. There, she was part of back-to-back MAC Championship teams in 2021 and 2022. The Cardinals men and women combined to win 18 medals and break 21 school records at those two conference meets.
The Norwalk, Ohio native graduated from UK in 2020 with a degree in dietetics while minoring in business. Freriks was a four-time College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America Scholar All-America First Team selection and landed on the SEC Academic Honor Roll each of her four years in the blue and white. In 2022, she earned her master’s in sport administration from Ball State.
Freriks replaces Bridgette Alexander on the Wildcats staff. Alexander, another former Kentucky NCAA qualifier, served as an assistant for one season.
The Kentucky women’s program finished 2nd at the 2022 SEC Championship meet, a year after winning their first-ever SEC women’s team title in swimming & diving.
The men placed 8th out of 10 teams with 600 points, ahead of only LSU and South Carolina: both programs with new head coaches last season.
Alexander says that she is stepping away from coaching for the team being for personal and professional reasons. They are attending Physical Therapy school and is currently working as a patient experience coordinator at Athletico Physical Therapy, a national chain of Physical Therapy centers.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 10-Event School Record Holder Geena Freriks Returns to Kentucky as a Coach