Feb. 16, 2012

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After missing out on the finals of the women’s three-meter springboard at last year’s SEC Championships, South Carolina senior Courtney Forcucci left no doubt about making the top eight on Thursday at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center. Forcucci finished second in the preliminaries with a score of 342.00 to advance to tonight’s finals.

“Honestly, going into the finals I’d prefer not to be in the No. 1 spot if you’ve never been there before in this particular meet,” South Carolina diving coach Todd Sherritt said. “It puts extra pressure on you. I think she did what she needed to do. We got more points on that list than we did. I will say if she’s on and doesn’t miss I don’t know if anybody will touch her.”

Freshman Patricia Kranz placed 18th in the event with a score of 274.14 as she just missed out on scoring in the top 16.

In the men’s three-meter springboard competition, freshman Cole Miller finished 21st with a score of 283.35. Sophomore Andrew Helmich posted a score of 236.20 to finish 26th.

The finals get underway tonight at 6 at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center. Live results and live video is available at utsports.com.