Feb. 4, 2011

By Wes Todd
Assistant Media Relations Director

IOWA CITY, Iowa – South Carolina junior Courtney Forcucci earned a berth in the 2012 Olympic Trials as she and assistant coach Allison Brennan both advanced to the final round of the 3-meter springboard competition on Friday at the USA Diving Winter National Championships, which are being held at the University of Iowa.

Forcucci was the No. 13 seed and Brennan was the No. 15 seed after a five-dive preliminary round with the top 18 spots advancing to the semifinals. Forcucci posted a 289.80 and Brennan scored a 282.00 to advance to the evening’s semis with those scores carrying over. Brennan put together a stellar performance to move up to eighth place and secure a spot in the finals with a score of 606.95. Forcucci was equally impressive, compiling a 10-dive total of 591.15 to earn the 12th and final spot in Sunday’s final round.

Perhaps more importantly, Forcucci’s performance earned her a spot in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, which will take place June 18-24, 2012, in Federal Way, Wash. The top 12 athletes in each individual Olympic event (3-meter and 10-meter) qualify for a spot in the Trials; Brennan would have earned a spot but was already qualified.

This follows another impressive day on Thursday by Forcucci and fellow Gamecock diver Rylan Ridenour. In the 1-meter semifinals, Forcucci just missed the finals with a 13th-place finish, posting a score of 240.60 to miss the final by just 15 points. On the men’s side, Ridenour battled through flu-like symptoms all day, but posted a 16th-place finish in the 33-person field, scoring 308.95 on his six-dive list. On Friday, Ridenour finished 21st in the men’s 3-meter preliminaries with a score of 344.10.

Forcucci and Brennan will compete against the nation’s top divers in Sunday’s 3-meter finals, which get underway at 1 p.m. ET at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center at the University of Iowa. Live scoring and live video are available through divemeets.com.