Gullstrand Earns All-America Honors on Day 2
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami women capped their run at the 2021 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships Friday night at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, hauling in two more major honors.
Emma Gullstrand and Mia Vallée ended the weekend with two top-10 finishes apiece on springboard events in an impressive week for the Hurricanes.
The duo was making its first ever trip to the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them,” head diving coach Randy Ableman said. “They weren’t intimidated, but they were a little nervous. It was a good learning experience. That’s really going to bode well for the future. You have to get through your first one of these and, when you come back next year, you know what it’s all about and you go for the title.”
A night after finishing ninth in the 1-meter springboard, Gullstrand picked up the first All-America honor of her career in the 3-meter springboard. Gullstrand finished fourth in the night’s finals (355.30).
A Sweden native, Gullstrand – who earned Honorable Mention All-America recognition on Thursday afternoon – finished the preliminary round in sixth place (345.40) to earn the first All-America honor of her career.
“The way Emma performed tonight, she looked good enough to win,” Ableman said. “She was one dive away. She’s so happy to be here and be a part of this team, it makes me feel really good that she says it means more to her than how she placed here. A lot of good feelings right now.”
Vallée, who was a top-eight finisher in the 1-meter springboard, finished 10th overall on the 3-meter, picking up Honorable Mention All-America honors.
Vallée, who missed out on the night’s finals in prelims after taking 11th place, ended in second place (341.70) in the consolation finals.
“To have two divers of that caliber on the same team, they’re just going to push each other for the next three years,” Ableman said. “It’s really important to have a training partner that is as good as you are. That’s part of the formula for greatness – to have teammates that push you. We’re really fortunate to have that going on at Miami.”
