Jan. 4, 2013
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After a rough first day of the Tennessee Diving Invite on Thursday, junior Greg Ferrucci bounced back in a big way on Friday. Ferrucci failed to make the finals of the men’s 1-meter event on Day 1 after battling through an illness. Friday was a completely different story.
As the men and women switched events on Day 2, the Wildcat men took to the 3-meter boards after senior John Fox picked up a third place finish on the 1-meter on Thursday. Evidence that Ferrucci was back on his game showed when he qualified for the finals of the 3-meter with a qualifying score of 346.65, which was good for sixth place. Fellow junior Corey Cowger earned a strong eighth place finish scoring 341.05 in the preliminaries.
In the finals, Ferrucci dominated the field with a final score of 410.85, more than 42 points better than second place finisher Fraser Mckean of Auburn to earn first place. Cowger finished the day in 12th with a final tally of 233.80.
“Greg Ferrucci bounced back and dived solidly in the final to get a win,” said head coach Ted Hautau. “Corey Cowger was outstanding in the preliminary and is showing improvement.”
The victory was Ferrucci’s third of the season on the 3-meter springboard.
John Fox did not compete on Friday suffering from the same bug as Ferrucci.
Freshman Rebecca Hamperian carried the women in the 1-meter event. Hamperian performed well in the preliminaries finishing third with a 281.60 to qualify for the finals. Sarah Chewning, Lindsay Keahey and Christa Cabot each finished within the top-20 but outside the qualifying top-12.
Hamperian could not match her preliminary score in the finals, earning a 258.40, good for 10th place in the event.
“Rebecca Hamperian was not feeling 100 percent, but was still pretty good in the prelims,” said Hautau. “She was tight in the final and needs to believe that she can be one of the best in the SEC. So I expect this was a good learning experience for her.”
With two days in the books in Knoxville at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, both the men and women will shift their focus to the third and final day of the Tennessee Invitational with each performing on the platform Saturday. Action gets underway at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Tennessee Diving Invitational
Friday’s Results
Finals
Men’s 3 Meter
1. Greg Ferrucci, UK, 410.85; 2. Fraser Mckean, Auburn, 372.05; 3. Nick McCrory, Duke, 370.70; 4. Brent Sterling, UT, 370.00; 5. Jakob Kolod, UVA, 358.05; 6. John Santeiu, Auburn, 355.15; 7. Clark Thomas, Missouri, 338.85; 8. Sean McKinney, LSU, 335.70; 9. Jordan Long, Duke, 333.30; 10. Daniel Helm, LSU, 297.60; 11. Jesse Lyman, LSU, 275.00; 12. Corey Cowger, UK, 233.80.
Women’s 1 Meter
1. Loren Figueroa, Missouri, 301.25; 2. Jodie McGroarty, UT, 295.30; 3. Samantha Lera, UT, 293.25; 4. Paige McCleary, Alabama, 286.95; 5. Tori Lamp, UT, 282.80; 6. Ellen Schmidt, LSU, 281.60; 7. Kimberly Helfrich, JMU, 274.60; 8. Alexandra Bettridge, LSU, 268.85; 9. Sharon Finn, Missouri, 260.10; 10. Rebecca Hamperian, UK, 258.40; 11. Cinzia Calabretta, Auburn, 257.05; 12. Rebecca Corbett, UVA, 241.50.
Prelims
Men’s 3 Meter
1. Brent Sterling, UT, 394.45; 2. Jakob Kolod, UVA, 386.15; 3. Nick McCrory, Duke, 378.40; 4. Daniel Helm, LSU, 375.60; 5. Fraser Mckean, Auburn, 349.80; 6. Greg Ferrucci, UK, 346.65; 7. Sean McKinney, LSU, 344.10; 8. Corey Cowger, UK, 341.05; 9. Jordan Long, Duke, 326.05; 10. John Santeiu, Auburn, 321.55; 11. Clark Thomas, Missouri, 321.10; 12. Jesse Lyman, LSU, 316.15.
Women’s 1 Meter
1. Loren Figueroa, Missouri, 309.40; 2. Alexandra Bettridge, LSU, 283.65; 3. Rebecca Hamperian, UK, 281.60; 4. Tori Lamp, UT, 279.95; 5. Jodie McGroarty, UT, 279.95; 6. Ellen Schmidt, LSU, 269.70; 7. Paige McCleary, Alabama, 263.20; 8. Cinzia Calabretta, Auburn, 263.10; 9. Rebecca Corbett, UVA, 261.55; 10. Sharon Finn, Missouri, 257.70; 11. Samantha Lera, UT, 256.75; 12. Kimberly Helfrich, JMU, 256.45.
