The Miami Hurricanes are competing without their powerhouse diving squad for the second consecutive weekend at the SMU Classic.
The Hurricanes pulled off a win last week over cross-town rivals Florida International by 60 points in spite of the lack of divers. The absence has cost them so far at the SMU Classic, where the team is in last place, 4 points behind SMU.
Miami has not responded to repeated requests about the status of their divers.
Mia Vallee, who has her 5th year of eligibility remaining, told SwimSwam in the off-season that she was planning to redshirt the 2023-2024 season to prepare for the Olympics (she’s Canadian) and return to Miami next year for her final season of eligibility. She scored 30 points at last year’s NCAA Championship meet, placing 3rd on 1-meter and 5th on 3-meter.
Other high profile divers on Miami’s roster include Maria Coburn, who has been at Miami for two years but has not yet competed; she was a nine-time Junior National Champion, a Junior Pan Am Champion, and a member of Team USA at the 2018 World Cup. Emma Gullstrand qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2022 before missing most of last year with an injury, and transfer Chiara Pellacani won four SEC medals in two seasons at LSU.
While NCAA’s NCAA qualifying swimmers Tara Vovk and Zorry Mason both graduated last year, the Hurricanes still have a big potential year thanks in part to the transfer of 12-time All-American Talia Bates, who graduated from Florida.
Miami’s men’s divers have also not competed yet, but they are a more unusual situation – the school sponsors a men’s diving team, but not a swimming contingent, so they typically compete less often. That men’s group includes All-American Mohamed Farouk, ACC men’s diver of the year Max Flory, and NCAA All-American Brodie Scapens.
