Nov. 20, 2010
ATLANTA, Ga. - Members of the Auburn diving team concluded the first two days of competition Saturday at the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta.
"Today was a better day for the team compared to Friday," head diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "The group really stepped up and competed to the level we've been training at. This meet is filled with NCAA-caliber athletes and will be a big asset for us come championship season."
Junior Vennie Dantin finished second on the one-meter springboard Saturday with a season-best score of 304.35. The Conroe, Texas, product advanced to the finals after finishing first in the preliminary session with 300.95 points. Classmate Anna Aguero qualified for the one-meter finals after taking third in the prelims with a season-best score of 288.85. She went on to finish eighth overall (266.95).
The women opened the invite Friday with the three-meter springboard competition. Aguero concluded the day with a sixth-place finish in a season-best score of 312.78 after tallying a preliminary score of 308.25. Dantin finished seventh (294.85) in the event after recording a season-best score of 328.05 in the preliminaries.
"I'm very pleased with Vennie's performance on the one-meter today," Shaffer said. "Anna continues to be very consistent and continues to improve."
Redshirt senior Dan Mazzaferro has had two solid days of competition for the Tigers. The Cheshire, Conn., native opened the meet Friday with a fourth-place finish on the one-meter springboard with a score of 336.50. He followed with a third-place finish on the three-meter Saturday with 394.65 points. Mazzaferro's preliminary score of 408.45 on the three-meter was a season-best.
"Dan led the way for us and has competed very consistently against very tough competition," Shaffer said.
Sophomore Thad Ellis had a successful second day as the Atlanta product finished fifth on the three-meter with 346.05 points. His score of 356.80 in the prelims was a season-best. Ellis finished the one-meter competition Friday in 14th place (290.30).
Also competing for Auburn were junior Adam Godzinski and freshman John Santeiu IV. Santeiu opened the meet Friday with an 11th-place finish on the one-meter (302.55) and finished the three-meter competition just shy of the finals in ninth-place (329.00). Godzinski took 15th on the three-meter with 280.65 points.
Competition continues Sunday as both the men and women contend on the platform. The women start the day at 10 a.m. ET with preliminaries.