Herrera Captures Second Gold at ACC Championships
GREENSBORO, N.C. — For the third time in his career, University of Miami senior diver Briadam Herrera swept the men’s springboard events at the ACC Swimming & Diving Championships, capturing the 3-meter title at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
Herrera, who dominated the 1-meter Wednesday night, added to his trophy case Thursday with the top finish in the 3-meter. The Havana, Cuba, native won his sixth ACC gold medal and eighth ACC medal of his career with another standout performance.
Herrera, who scored 385.45 in the morning’s preliminary round, finished with a score of 433.20 in the night’s finals to run away with the gold medal. Florida State’s Josh Davidson was in second with a score of 367.00.
“I felt great tonight. I was very excited for the finals, and I had a lot of energy,” Herrera said. “I kept my mind in a good place and had a plan for each dive and everything went as planned.”
Not to be outdone, the Hurricanes’ entry in the 200 free relay broke the school record by .07 seconds.
“They are really learning how to create energy as a team and use that energy to succeed,” Kershaw said of the performance.
Freshman swimmer Zorry Mason finished atop the leaderboard of the ‘B’ final of the 200-yard IM after impressing in preliminaries Thursday.
Mason, who has been among Miami’s top point-getters all season, bested Luciana Thomas of Notre Dame with a time of 1:58.79 for the No. 1 finish.
“Zorry’s 200 IM was beautifully executed, and displayed the little details she has worked so hard on,” Kershaw said. “To see her win that heat and throw up the ‘U’ was great.”
The time lowered Mason’s own school record in the event, originally set in December. But The Louisville, Ky., native was not the only one to shine in preliminaries; junior Claire McGinnis impressed in the 500-yard freestyle, while sophomores Chandler Sensibaugh and Carmen San Nicolas stood out early.
“This morning, we were good, but not quite as good as we were all hoping for as a team,” head swimming coach Andy Kershaw said. “We certainly had some great highlights in the morning. Everyone was really excited to see Claire go a best time in the 500, they have seen how hard she has worked all year. Sensibaugh also threw down a best in the IM, and Carmen in the 50.”
The Hurricanes continue their trip at the ACC Championships Friday in Greensboro.
