Jan. 4, 2011

By Wes Todd
Assistant Media Relations Director

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – South Carolina had three divers advance to the women’s 1-meter springboard finals on Tuesday at the Tennessee Diving Invitational to wrap up their stay at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.

“It was a very productive week for us,” Gamecock head diving coach Todd Sherritt said. “We didn’t put much emphasis on competing this week; it was almost strictly a training meet. We worked on a lot of different things, and I saw a lot of good things out of our team. We definitely don’t want to be peaking right now. But all-in-all, it was a good week for us.”

Senior Taryn Zack led the way with a fifth-place finish in the finals, posting a 275.05 over her six-dive list to finish less than a point behind Georgia’s Hannah Moore for fourth place. She finished 15 points behind Auburn’s Anna Augero, who won the event with a 290.10. Zack had the top score in the preliminary round, posting a 303.60 to take the top seed in the finals by a 26-point margin.

Junior Courtney Forcucci finished in ninth place, posting a 261.05 on the 1-meter board after recording a fourth-place showing on the 3-meter board on Monday. Forcucci was the No. 3 seed in the finals after a 272.90 in the preliminary round. Sophomore Chay Malvasio also advanced to the finals and finished in 12th place with a 227.80. She was the No. 11 seed out of the prelims after posting a score of 255.55 earlier in the day.

On the men’s side, sophomore Rylan Ridenour was the top performer for South Carolina, posting a 306.60 in the 3-meter springboard competition to finish in 18th place in the preliminary round, narrowly missing a spot in the finals. Freshman Andrew Helmich finished in 32nd place with a score of 246.25.

The Gamecocks have been competing this week without the services of a key member of the women’s team. Senior Allison Barr missed the meet after a mishap in practice left her with facial injuries and a mild concussion.

“We’re extremely lucky that it wasn’t more serious,” Sherritt said. “She’s looking a lot better today, but she’ll likely be out for a while.”

The Carolina divers will rejoin the full squad on Friday for a home tri-meet with Kentucky and College of Charleston. The diving portion of the meet is set for a 1 p.m. start with swimming set to begin at 2 p.m.