Tennessee Wins Diving Invite Overall; Alabama Win Women’s Meet

2022 TENNESSEE DIVING INVITATIONAL

• Monday, January 3 – Thursday, January 6, 2022
• Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, Knoxville, Tenn.
• Preview
• Full Results

Tennessee won its own diving invitational both overall and on the men’s side, while Alabama took home the women’s title in the meet that lasted the bulk of this week.

The Vols overwhelmed the competition, winning 232 points overall compared to second-place University of South Carolina’s 165 points. 

The meet featured women’s and men’s 1-meter board, 3-meter board, and platform event, as well as a new team-style event where three divers perform six dives to come up with a team score.

Tennessee won the men’s team event with a mark of 400.65, beating out Alabama’s 370.15. The women placed third during the team event with a score of 292.90. Individually, sophomore Bryden Hattie shone for the Vols. The reigning SEC platform champion won the platform with a mark of 388.40. He won from behind, performing a Back 2 1/2 Somersault 1 1/2 Twist Pike for his final dive to clutch the victory. Hattie placed ninth in the event at the 2021 NCAAs, but no one in the top eight at that meet participated in this one. He also won the men’s 3-meter with a score of 404.90, followed by his teammate Matthew Wade, who was sixth in the event at 2021 NCAAs, with a score of 384.35.

On the women’s side, Kara Holt performed the best for Tennessee, posting a second-place performance on the platform.

Kevin Li supported Alabama’s efforts on the men’s side, using a season-best score of 366.25 to win the 1-meter. He moved up nine spots from finishing tenth in prelims, and beat Wade and Carlo Lopez, the only people in the event to make B finals at 2021 NCAA Championships. Connor Pruitt, who came in second and dives for Auburn, also beat both Wade and Lopez.

Alabama won on the women’s side, with Tanesha Lucoe earning bronze on the 1-meter board and the 3-meter board. Alabama’s win was narrow, scoring 109 points compared to South Carolina’s 99 points.

It was South Carolina, however, that dominated with podium finishes. Aside from winning the women’s team event, graduate transfer Brook Schultz swept the springboard events and earned a total of four NCAA Zone qualifying scores. Schultz placed 3rd at the 2021 NCAAs in the 1-meter, behind phenom Sarah Bacon and UNC’s Aranza Vazquez-Montano. Schultz placed 12th in the 3-meter at NCAAs, but none of the people who placed ahead of her competed at this meet.

South Carolina freshman Sophie Verzyl took second in both the 1-meter and 3-meter behind Schultz.

On the men’s side, junior Manny Vazquez Bas earned five NCAA Zone qualifying scores, with his best performance a third-place finish on the platform dive.

Sarah Rousseau was the only first-place finisher for Missouri, winning the women’s platform dive with a score of 272.25, an NCAA Zone qualifying score. She defeated Holt, who placed 19th at 2021 NCAAs, well ahead of Rousseau’s 34th at the same meet.

Several teams dropped out of the meet prior to the beginning of the meet, including LSU, NC State, Virginia, and Georgia.