Georgia
Ian Forlini placed third on the 1-meter springboard to highlight Georgia’s showing on Saturday in the Tennessee Diving Invitational.
Forlini rolled up 349.85 points in the 12-man final to claim third. He also stood third after prelims with 344.00 points. Crawford Berry followed Forlini in sixth with a season-best 308.35 points. Berry was fifth following prelims with 306.15 points. Bobby Chambless came in 18th with 237.25 points and Walker Wheeler stood 22nd with 212.30 points.
Olivia Ball was the lone Lady Bulldog to reach the women’s 3-meter finals and she came in fourth with 325.70 points. After prelims, Ball stood sixth with 305.50 points. Darcie O’Brien finished 19th with 248.25 points, Elizabeth Ann Kirkland came in 29th with 228.45 points and Kelly Thatcher placed 39th with 196.30 points.
Georgia’s divers had been idle since the UGA Fall Invitational Dec. 5-7.
“I thought the kids did a real good job, especially considering we were coming off a break and some Christmas training,” Georgia diving coach Dan Laak said. “I’m real pleased with where we are right now and I’m anxious to see how we do the next couple of days and moving forward.”
Kentucky
Redshirt Sophomore Rebecca Hamperian notched a career-best score to finish second on 3-meter to lead the Kentucky diving team to a strong opening day at the Tennessee Diving Invitational.
Hamperian was one of three UK women to advance to the finals and place in the top nine in the 3-meter competition on the first day of competition against a deep field in Knoxville, Tenn.
“Nice job by the women today,” UK head diving coach Ted Hautau said. “All three made the finals in a very competitive field. Rebecca Hamperian dove with ice in her veins today. She failed on her fourth dive, shook it off and reeled in a number of divers in her final two dives. She fought her way into that final and earned her career-best score on 3-meter.”
Hamperian, a Lexington, Ky., native, recorded a 263.15 in the prelims to become the last of 12 divers to advance to the finals in the 3-meter competition. The sophomore followed with a 332.10 in the finals, a career-best score to finish second overall. Hamperian beat out LSU’s Cassie Weil by just under four points to earn the runner-up finish.
Seniors Lindsay Keahey and Christa Cabot also advanced to the finals and finished in the top nine. Keahey recorded a 292.30 in the finals to finish eighth, while Cabot earned a 279.10 to place ninth. In the prelims, Keahey notched a 263.25, while Cabot posted a 312.20.
Freshman Levi Lindsey led the UK men with a 14th-place finish on 1-meter with a 251.10. Fellow freshman Stephen Jou was 19th with a 230.60, while senior Noah Richter earned a 223.65 to finish 21st overall.
Missouri
Mizzou junior diver Lauren Reedy claimed the 3-meter crown on Saturday, Jan. 3 to highlight Missouri’s day one action at the three-day Tennessee Diving Invite at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tenn.
In the finals session, Reedy sat in third place with two dives remaining but posted scores of 57.00 and 65.10 in her final two rounds to earn the 3-meter victory. Also qualifying for finals on the event was freshman Alexa Beckwith, who ultimately finished 11th (257.25) after an eighth-place (294.10).
In the men’s 1-meter competition, junior Clark Thomas earned a fifth-place finish with a finals score of 340.65, followed closely by freshman Hunter Fritter, who finished seventh with 307.15 points in finals. Narrowly missing the finals session was freshman Cecil Fritter, as he placed 15th in prelims.
N.C. State
Gabi McDermott, Harrison Mitchell and Rachel Mumma of the NC State swimming and diving team completed day one of the Tennessee Diving Invitational on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn., inside the Allan Jones Aquatic Center.
Radman’s Recap
“I think today went well for us. Both Gabi and Harry are slowly making progress toward where they need to be. With each day and each dive, its a learning experience and we can see that things are starting to click for both of them.
“For Rachel, she's plugging right along. She did pretty well today- her first round was better than her second but is right where she needs to be.
“We’re excited to see what tomorrow and the day after brings and go from there. We’re happy with the performances all around, and today was a good start to the 2015 year and the second half of the season.”- Yahya Radman, head diving coach
Springboard Action
After earning a spot in the women’s three-meter final, Mumma finished sixth of 45 divers in the competition with a six-dive total of 303.60. She recorded a six-dive score of 313.10 in the preliminary round of the event.
McDermott finished 33rd overall in the women’s three-meter event with a score of 222.25, while Mitchell finished 24th in the men’s one-meter dive with a six-dive total of 190.70.
Up Next
McDermott, Mitchell and Mumma will continue competition, which is slated to begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Tennessee Diving Invitational. Mumma and McDermott and Mumma will compete in the women’s one-meter event while Mitchell will compete in the men’s three-meter competition.
