March 30, 2013
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Kentucky junior divers Greg Ferrucci and John Fox took to the 3-meter springboard on day two of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships Friday. For the second time in as many days, Ferrucci claimed fourth place in the event to claim his second straight top-five finish.
Ferrucci finished in fourth place on Friday, scoring 423.15 to grab fourth place for the second night in a row at the NCAA Championships.
“We had a good second day,” said UK dive coach Ted Hautau. “John Fox was a little off with his takeoffs on the end of the springboard but did a great job finding a way to get his dive straight in and competed very well.”
For the second consecutive day, Ferrucci found himself at the top of the leader board after preliminary action, but this time he found himself in second place instead of third heading into the 3-meter springboard finals. Ferrucci delivered an impressive showing in his best event with a preliminary score of 418.25 to put him in the top-eight group in the finals.
“I was really please with Greg’s performance today,” said Hautau. “He handled the moment well, stayed composed, and was mentally strong.”
Also for the second consecutive event, the entire field was looking up at Stanford’s super sophomore Kristian Ipsen who held first place after 3-meter preliminary action with a top score of 442.75. Ipsen also won the 1-meter springboard on Thursday night with a 473.75 to earn gold.
Fox was unable to break through into the top 16 with his preliminary performance in the event in which he qualified for the NCAA Championships. After finishing in 22nd place on Thursday on 1-meter springboard, Fox earned another top-25 finish with his six-dive score of 325.05.
In the finals, Ferrucci improved on his preliminary score with his 423.15, and he was just 2.35 points from medaling in the event. His second fourth-place finish earned UK 15 points and helped them to 23rd place at the NCAA Championships.
Ipsen won again Friday night with a final six-dive score of 450.60 to lead the field in the 3-meter championship.
Ferrucci and Fox will finish up the NCAA Championships on Saturday when both compete on platform, the final diving event of the season. Action once again gets underway at 11 a.m. at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis with finals kicking off at 7 p.m.
