Canes Divers Make Big Splash at National Championships
Aug. 12, 2011
LOS ANGELES – University of Miami divers Samuel Dorman and Lindsay Lester each notched solid performances Friday evening at the AT&T National Diving Championships inside the Spieker Aquatics Center on the campus of UCLA. Dorman took second place on the 1-meter board after winning the prelims.
Dorman and Lester, both rising sophomores under veteran head coach Randy Ableman at UMiami, each qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympic trials with solid performances in the 1- and 3-meter springboard events, respectively.
“I’m very excited with the outcome today because we’re a young team,” said Ableman. “Lindsay and Sam are going to the Olympic trials and this is a huge step forward for both of them. We’ve been working hard and it is truly paying off.”
Samuel Dorman (Tempe, Ariz.) won the preliminary round of the 1-meter springboard (384.85 points), later advancing to the finals and scoring 376.20 points on his final six dives en route to the silver medal. His second dive, an Inward 2 ½ Somersault Tuck, tallied him a judges’ score of 74.40. It was his final dive, a Forward 2 ½ Somersault 1 Twist Pike, that scored his highest dive of the round with a judges’ award of 76.80 points.
For Dorman, Friday’s 1-meter finals represented the first of its kind for a national championships event. The men’s 1-meter final takes place Sunday. He will also compete in the men’s 3-meter finals Saturday afternoon after qualifying with a 10th place finish and a score of 384.50 points.
Lindsay Lester (San Jose, Calif.) will compete in her first-ever women’s 3-meter finals on Sunday as she qualified with a 12th-place finish and a score of 273.20 points. For Lester, Friday’s prelims and semifinals was her first 3-meter national competition.
Lester performed five dives in the semis, scoring her best dives on the last two. She executed a Back 2 ½ Somersault Tuck for her highest score of the round tallying 60.20 points. Her final dive netted her a score of 59.40 points after performing an Inward 2 ½ Somersault Tuck.
Joining Dorman in tomorrow’s finals events will be former Cane and two-time NCAA champion Brittany Viola. She will compete on the 10-meter platform after qualifying Wednesday evening for the finals.
The AT&T National Diving Championships continue through Sunday, August 14.
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