March 12, 2013

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — South Carolina sophomore Cole Miller broke the school record on the three-meter springboard with a 12-dive score of 705.5 in the finals at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships on Tuesday at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center.

Miller wrapped up the event in fifth place, falling 26.2 points shy of qualifying for the NCAA Championships. His score broke teammate Rylan Ridenour’s record of 698.20, which he set at the 2011 Zone Championships.

“This was a much better day, but we still came up short of qualifying for the NCAA Championships,” South Carolina diving coach Todd Sherritt said. “Cole had an outstanding performance, finishing fifth and setting a school record. He dove his heart out today. He could not have performed much better. That was his best list to this point in his career.”

Miller entered the finals in 10th place with a preliminary score of 328.75 and moved up five spots with a score of 376.75 to claim fifth. Ridenour also advanced to the finals and finished 16th with a score of 631.5, and junior Andrew Helmich finished 29th overall with a preliminary score of 237.85.

Sophomore Patricia Kranz was the third Gamecock to make the finals on Tuesday as she advanced in the women’s one-meter springboard competition. Kranz posted a preliminary score of 256.3 to enter the finals in 13th place. She then scored 275.65 in the finals to finish 12th overall with a total of 531.95. Freshman Lauren Lamendola fell 7.85 points shy of making the finals as she placed 21st with a score of 243.9, and senior Chay Malvasio claimed 25th with a total of 237.4.

“Patti did a nice job today,” Sherritt said. “She had two misses, and that kept her out of qualifying. We are a very young team. These guys are going to be around for a while. We will get back to work and shore up some of the issues that came up this week. A few years ago Allison Brennan did not make the NCAA Championships her sophomore year. She won it her junior year. This team has that same potential and dynamic to it. It would not surprise me to see one of them in the winner’s circle next year.”

The Gamecocks will not have any divers competing on the platform during the final day of competition on Wednesday.