ATHENS, Ga. — Another day of competition at the Georgia Diving Invitational saw three LSU divers advance to finals in the men’s 1-meter and women’s 3-meter from the Gabrielsen Natatorium.
Andrew Keane dove a preliminary mark of 257.05 in the men’s 1-meter to reach the final session. Keane then took 12th with a final score of 240.60.
“Andrew was able to qualify for the finals with some great dives,” said diving coach Doug Shaffer. “There were a lot of positives out there today for him. He has improved dramatically from where he was a year ago.”
Niko Dalman narrowly missed qualifying for the finals for the second consecutive day. Dalman was one position away, finishing 13th in the prelims with a score of 247.45. Nathan Schreiber rounded out the men’s finishes with a 17th-place tally of 237.30.
On the women’s side, Hali Saucier reached the 3-meter finals with a brilliant prelim run of 286.95. Saucier’s score was the second-highest total of the prelim round after Corey Gerlach of Auburn posted a score of 320.15. In the finals, Saucier took eighth with a score of 262.25.
“Hali had the best performance of her career in the 3-meter prelims,” said Shaffer. “Even though she finished eighth in the finals, she had a great event.”
Freshman Alyson Thomas earned a berth in the finals with her 12th-place finish (249.35). Thomas stayed steady in the finals to hold 12th with a score of 244.15.
“Thomas was equally outstanding competing as a freshman,” added Shaffer. “She can use this as a stepping stone into other events in the future.”
Ryanne Snyder and Paige Brown placed 21st and 26th, respectively with marks of 228.00 and 210.85.
The invitational closes tomorrow with the men’s and women’s platform competition scheduled to get underway at 11:30 a.m. ET. For the Tigers, it will be their second chance at the platform this season.
“I feel really good about our chances tomorrow,” said Shaffer. “Even though it will only be our second time in platform this season, we are a lot further along in training than we have been in the past.”