Vazquez Bas Finalizes Season for Swim and Dive

Atlanta, Ga. – South Carolina junior diver Manny Vazquez Bas wrapped up Gamecock Swim and Dive’s season with a 35th-place finish in the 3-meter dive and a 17th-place finish in the platform dive at NCAA Championships.
 
The San Juan, Puerto Rico, native competed in the preliminary rounds of the 3-meter dive on Friday. He placed 35th out of 47 divers competing. Vazquez Bas was consistent through his first four dives, scoring in the 50s, but suffered a low score in the fifth dive that dropped his placement to 44th. He made a comeback on his final dive, scoring a 61.2 on a forward two-and-a-half somersault two twist pike, which was enough to jump back up into the 35th position with a final score of 316.35.
 
Vazquez Bas also competed in Saturday’s preliminary platform dives, completing all of his dives from the 10-meter platform. He started slow with a 49.5 and 37.8 on his first two dives before climbing the placements with a 59.20 on his armstand dive, a back two somersault on-and-a-half twist free that catapulted him up to 13th place. Vazquez scored a 49.5 in his fourth dive and followed that up with a pair of 67.2 scores in his final two dives, an inward three-and-a-half somersault tuck and a back two-and-a-half somersault one-and-a-half twist pike. His final score of 330.40 was just shy of a place in the finals with the top 16 divers advancing.
 
This trip to the NCAA Championships rounds out the competition season for Gamecock Swimming and Diving. First-year head coach Jeff Poppell concludes his inaugural season with four new swim program records, two SEC diving titles, and three appearances in the NCAA Championships.
 
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