March 24, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Freshman diver Greg Ferrucci will look to continue his stellar rookie season on Thursday when he competes in Minneapolis at the 2011 men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships at the University Aquatic Center from March 24-26.
Ferrucci, the Southeastern Conference Freshman Diver of the Year, earned his place in the championships at the Zone C Diving Championships in Columbus, Ohio on the first day. Ferrucci finished the preliminaries in fifth place on the one-meter board with a score of 339.60, but fought back in the finals on his second round of dives, putting together a score of 376.75 to finish with a cumulative score of 716.35. Ferrucci’s score put him in second place for the zone and a spot in Minneapolis.
“This year’s NCAA championships should be a great competition,” UK diving coach Ted Hautau said. “We have a very experienced and talented field of divers. This will be a good experience for Greg. I want him to relax, dive with confidence and not worry about the outcome. The looser he is, the better he’ll dive.”
Ferrucci finished in seventh place on the three-meter board and recorded a career-best score of 373.30 in the preliminaries of the platform en route to a fourth-place finish.
The freshman from Huntersville, N.C., ranks third all-time at Kentucky on the one-meter board and second on the three-meter board and platform.
Day one at the championships will feature the 200-freestyle relay, 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle, one-meter diving and 400-medley relay. Day two will have the 200-medley relay, 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, three-meter diving and 800-freestyle relay. Finally, day three, the meet’s final day of competition, will hold the 1,650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, platform diving and 400-freestyle relay.
The University Aquatic Center has hosted nine Big Ten Championships and six NCAA Championships, among other premier events. Live results for each day of the men’s championships can be found at UKathletics.com.
For all Kentucky swimming and diving news, including recaps following each day of competition, visit UKathletics.com.
