Feb. 17, 2010

ATHENS, Ga. – Junior divers Taryn Zack and Allison Barr advanced to finals in women’s 1-meter diving in the opening session of the 2010 SEC Championships on Wednesday afternoon at the Gabrielsen Natatorium. Freshman Rylan Ridenour came up just short of a finals appearance with a ninth-place finish in the men’s 3-meter prelims.

Zack, the defending SEC Champion on the 1-meter board, scored 305.00 in preliminaries to earn the second seed for this evening’s finals. She was only three points behind Alabama’s Carrie Dragland, who earned the top seed with a score of 308.05.

Barr scored well on her final dive to climb into eighth place and earn the last spot in the championship final with a score of 286.45, a scant 0.90 points ahead of the ninth-place finisher. It’s the second straight year for Barr to advance to the finals in this event. Alvey will be the first Carolina participant to post a scoring result at this year’s championship with a 15th-place showing. She earns two points with her score of 250.25. Freshman Sarah Deuell, competing in her first SEC Championships, was 23rd with a 202.35.

In men’s 3-meter diving, Ridenour barely missed the finals with a ninth-place finish, earning nine points for the Gamecocks’ team score with a 342.85. His score fell just five points behind eighth-place finisher Collin Bell of Florida. Sophomore Ryan Kuser was 14th, improving on his 18th-place finish a year ago, with a score of 309.35 to earn three points for South Carolina. Freshman Nikolas Sachs finished 17th with a score of 256.45.

The first night of finals will include both diving events as well as the 200 medley relay and the 800 freestyle relay. Competition gets underway at 6 p.m. Live results and video are available through GeorgiaDogs.com, and fans can receive live updates via Twitter by following @GamecockSwim.