Diving Opens USA Winter Nationals Tuesday
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The University of Miami diving team will open its trip to the 2014 USA Diving Winter National Championships at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion Tuesday.
Head coach Randy Ableman has high expectations for his Hurricanes, who will feature three men’s divers and four women’s divers across the five-day competition.
“I’m very excited. We’re in a good place, everybody is diving well, but the competition is going to be stiff,” Ableman said.
The Hurricanes traveled to the Ohio State Invitational earlier this fall, largely to familiarize themselves with the pool and surroundings. Ableman said the decision paid off for Miami, who enjoyed a number of top finishes.
“That was a good move on our part,” Ableman said. “They already knew which boards they liked. Diving is very visual – you have visual spots while you’re spinning during dives. They’re used to this place, and I think that’ll be an advantage for them.”
Freshman Briadam Herrera and senior Sam Dorman captured the top two spots in the 1-meter finals in their last trip to the McCorkle Pavilion, and both are expected to compete for the same distinction Tuesday.
“The World Championship team is picked off of [the 1-meter event], and you have to be in the top two, which is very hard,” Ableman said. “Sam has a shot and Briadam could really catch fire and do something. It’s the biggest meet of Briadam’s life – he just became a citizen in November, so this is a big deal for him.”
Junior Tanner Wilfong will be competing in the 3-meter (along with Dorman and Herrera), and will be Miami’s lone representative on the men’s 10-meter (platform) and 10-meter synchronized events.
Seniors Kara McCormack and Thea Vock will represent Miami on the 1-meter. Vock took first in the 1-meter at the Ohio State Invitational in late November, besting a tough field of competition with a score of 312.15.
McCormack, Vock, senior Cheyenne Cousineau and freshman Wally Layland will all compete in the 3-meter event, while Cousineau and Layland will take part in the 10-meter (platform).
“My goal is to have everyone diving their best for this meet at this time of year,” Ableman said. “We’ve been looking forward to it all semester. The hard work has been done, and now we’ll see how we compete.”
The action opens Tuesday with the 1-meter event for both men and women.
“Tuesday is going to be an exciting day. I feel like a little relief that we did our job in the preparation part, and now it’s up to them to stand up there and come through. We’ll see how that happens.”
