Feb. 11, 2005

Gainesville, Fla. – In day one of the SEC Diving Championships, the South Carolina Gamecocks had four out of seven divers advance to the finals. Senior Lauren King finished second, while junior Tracey Richardson placed third on the 3-meter board. On the men’s side, senior Andy Bradley placed third and senior Dean Emmerton finished fifth on the 1-meter board.

In the prelims, King recorded a score of 472.95 for second place and Richardson scored 459.85 for sixth place guaranteeing spot in the finals. In the finals, King and Richardson were neck in neck as King edged out Richardson 474.45 to 474.05, to give USC a 2-3 finish. Kentucky’s Jessica Thompson took the title as she recorded a score of 480.60.

Sophomore Lyndsey Havens just missed the cut as she recorded a score of 433.55 and placed ninth. USC’s fourth diver Holly Hodges placed 17th with a score of 414.30.

In the men’s prelims, Bradley placed second with a score of 342.0 and Emmerton was third with a score of 311.50 to advance to the finals. Ian Balman scored 247.10 and finished 20th. Georgia’s Chris Colwill finished first in both the prelims and the finals as he scored 368.80 and 336.90 respectively.

Bradley finished third in the finals behind Steven Segerlin of Auburn (350.75). Florida’s Vitor Assuncao came between USC placing 3-4 as he scored 334.75 for fourth, ahead of Emmerton, whose fifth place score was 322.80.

The Championships continue on Saturday as the men’s 3-meter and the women’s 1-meter events are scheduled. Prelims will begin at Noon while the finals are slated for 6 p.m.