Diving Enjoys Strong First Day at Texas Invite

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Miami diving team enjoyed a strong first day of competition at the University of Texas Invite at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on the Texas campus Thursday.

Freshman diver Zach Cooper opened the day with a third-place finish in the preliminaries of the 1-meter, finishing the early action with a score of 318.10.

The Indiana native finished the night’s finals in fourth place with a score of 342.75.

“We had a really solid day today,” head diving coach Randy Ableman said. “Cooper got fourth but he’s primarily a 10-meter diver -he’s still learning how to dive springboard, and he keeps getting better. I’m very proud of him.”

All three of the Hurricanes women divers qualified for the night’s finals in the 3-meter and all jumped up a spot, ending the first day on a high note.

Sophomore Marcela Maric took second (363.10), senior Wally Layland took third (359.15) and Carolyn Chaney took sixth (329.05).

“The women moved up from their preliminary finishes. It was a very good contest, and there were a lot of great divers taking part,” Ableman said. “We posted our highest scores so far this year, so it’s obvious we’re on the right track.”

The men and women will swap events Friday, with the men competing in the 3-meter and the women taking part in the 1-meter. The Texas Invite concludes Saturday with the 10-meter platform.

“Tomorrow is another day, and it’s important we come out and compete to the best of our abilities,” Ableman said. “I know we’ll be ready to go.”