2020 UIC Diving Invite
- February 1, 2020
- Chicago, Illinois
- Results
Courtesy: UIC Athletics
Cydney Liebenberg broke her own 1-meter school record, Felix LaFortune won both individual events, and Ryan Murphy set two career highs and qualified for NCAA Zone competition for the first time, at the UIC Diving Invitational Saturday.
Liebenberg scored 312.95 in 1-meter diving, surpassing the record she set earlier this year by over four points.
LaFortune claimed victory on both boards for the second straight time, and fourth in five meets in 2020. Murphy’s career day gave him a ticket to the NCAA postseason for the first time. Not to be outdone, Andrew Lewarchick set a career high on the 1-meter board.
Thirteen men and nearly two dozen women, from Milwaukee, Green Bay, UChicago, Oshkosh, Eau Claire, Illinois, and Illinois State, comprised the field. Team scores were not kept.
Following the two rounds of competitive individual events, an exhibition round of 3-meter synchronized diving was held. Competing in same-sex and mixed pairs, divers intermingled between schools to form teams.
Event Winners
- Felix LaFortune took the 1-meter title with a score of 327.55. His score was buoyed by career highs on two of his dives. He received 8.0 from two judges on his second dive.
- LaFortune completed the sweep with a victorious 3-meter score of 360.15. He put the competition out of reach by his fourth dive, on which he scored 8.5, 8.0, and 8.0 to set a career high.
- Liebenberg ran away with the 1-meter crown, achieved two 8.0s on two separate dives and had at least one 7.0 on each of her six attempts.
Top Performances
- Andrew Lewarchick took second place on the 1-meter board, setting a new career high of 322.70. He cleared the NCAA Zone cut for the second straight meet. He set a career best on his third dive, which carried a 3.0 degree of difficulty. He later finished fourth in 3-meter competition. His fifth dive, on which he scored a career high, had him in contention for a podium finish, but he scored only 34.50 on his final attempt.
- Ryan Murphy beat the NCAA Zone standard for the first time with a career high 1-meter score of 306.10. He finished in third place behind his two teammates. He turned in his best score on a high 3.0 degree of difficulty dive, resulting in a career best 55.50. Murphy came in fifth on the 3-meter board. He broke 300 for the first time in his career, sprung by career high scores on his last two dives.
- Cydney Liebenberg took second in the 3-meter competition, unable to overcome a sub-20 point score on her third dive. Her total of 282.90 was her eighth Zone-qualifying score of the season, but her season-long nine meet winning streak was broken.
- Maya Molldrem set a career high and finished fourth on the 3-meter board. She finished strong with new career highs on each of her last three dives, including her highest degree of difficulty. She scored 250.25 and finished fifth in the 1-meter event.
- Abigail Hellinga was ninth in the 3-meter competition. She tied two career marks and set a third during her 6-dive round, earning 6.5s across the board on her fourth dive. She took 12th on the 1-meter board.
Up Next
- The Flames have completed regular season competition.
- The team will take over two weeks off to train for the Horizon League championships, which begin February 19 at Oakland.
