Diving Trio to Represent USA at Grand Prix
KUALA LUMPUR — Three Miami Hurricanes divers will represent USA Diving at the prestigious FINA Grand Prix meet in Malaysia, with competition slated for Oct. 24-26.
Cheyenne Cousineau, Sam Dorman and Tanner Wilfong comprise three of USA Diving’s 11-member team that will make the trip to Malaysia’s National Aquatic Center in the town of Bukit Jalil.
Assistant diving coach Dario DiFazio will serve as one of two USA Diving coaches on the trip.
“I’m very proud of them,” head coach Randy Ableman said. “We were in training mode when we found out, and we had to get those three ready to go – this is a big international meet.”
Cousineau will compete in the 10-meter platform event on the women’s side, while Dorman will compete in the 3-meter event on the men’s side.
Wilfong is teamed up with Zach Cooper in the 10-meter synchro event.
Ableman said that despite the restructuring of the training regimen, he’s excited for the trio to take part in such a prestigious event.
“It’s a good problem to have,” Ableman said. “It’s a big responsibility, because we’re in a preseason faze and I had to get them at their peak. There was a lot of hard training.”
Joining the Hurricanes trio are Cooper (10-meter, 10-meter synchro), Dwight Dumais (3-meter synchro), Aaron Fleshner (3-meter, 3-meter synchro), Deidre Freeman (3-meter synchro), Laura Ryan (3-meter), Toby Stanley (10-meter), Maren Taylor (3-meter, 3-meter synchro) and Katrina Young (10-meter).
Of the 11-member team representing USA in Malaysia, only four are collegiate divers – with three of them from the University of Miami.
But competing on such a prominent international scene is nothing new for Ableman’s program.
Cousineau was the recipient of the USA Diving Wendy Wyland Award and competed for Team USA at the 2013 FINA World Championships, where she won a national title. Dorman was a member of Team USA at the 2014 FINA Diving World Cup, and became the first Hurricane to ever capture three gold medals at the 2013 AT&T National Diving Championships.
Perhaps most importantly, the head diving coach is excited for his trio to bring that experience back for the 2014-15 NCAA season – the last for both Cousineau and Dorman.
“The experience they have there is going to really serve them well when it comes time for the NCAA’s in March,” Ableman said.
Follow HurricaneSports.com and USADiving.org for day-by-day updates from Kuala Lumpur.
