Vazquez Bas Completes Season in Fourth Place Nationally
Minneapolis, Minn. – South Carolina senior diver Manny Vazquez Bas concluded the season for the team on Saturday, earning All-America status for his fourth place finish at the NCAA Championships.
The San Juan, Puerto Rico, native placed seventh overall out of 47 competitors in the prelims with a score of 368.85, securing a spot in the A-finals.
In the finals, Vazquez Bas hit the ground running, gathering 76.50 points on his first dive. His second dive was his lowest scoring dive of the event, bringing in 49.00 points. His third dive was an armstand back two somersault one and a half twist that netted him 67.20 points. Vazquez stumbled just slightly in his fourth dive, gaining 49.50 points, but got right back on track with his highest scoring dive of the evening, adding 83.20 points on an inward three and a half somersault tuck. The senior closed out the competition just as strong as he opened it, scoring a 76.80 on his final dive for a score of 402.20.
For his fourth place finish, Vazquez Bas has earned the first All-America honors of his career. Across his two seasons in the Garnet & Black, the senior has brought home a pair of SEC platform medals and holds the program record in the platform dive.
The fourth place finished earned the team 15 points, putting South Carolina in 26th place at the NCAA Championships.
This performance concludes the season for the 2022-23 edition of the South Carolina swim & dive team. South Carolina’s women’s team completes the season at No. 25 in the CSCAA Rankings, adds five new program records, and earned three SEC medals – two gold and one silver. The men’s team completes the season with four new program records and two SEC medals – a silver and a bronze.
This marks the conclusion of the second season under head coach Jeff Poppell. Across his two seasons at the helm, Poppell has now brought a total of eight SEC medals to South Carolina and had 13 individual NCAA qualifiers and one relay qualification. This season, Poppell has overseen a pair of divers place in the top-5 nationally and had two athletes earn All-America status.
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