Dec. 16, 2011
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - A trio of Auburn divers advanced from the preliminary rounds at the 2012 USA Diving Winter National Championships, which got underway Thursday and Friday at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatics Center.
Senior Anna Aguero, sophomore John Santeiu and freshman Michael Beran advanced from fields of more than 70 competitors, earning qualifying spots in the championship portion of the meet, which gets underway Saturday. They will join senior Vennie Dantin, who was already qualified in each event.
"It's obviously a little bit of different strategy with that many people in the meet," Auburn diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "I thought we did pretty well (Thursday), didn't think we were quite as sharp today. Every time you step on board it's a learning experience, and we've just got to learn from it and keep getting better."
Aguero qualified in both the 1- and 3-meter springboard events, taking runner-up honors on the 3-meter board with a 261.60 and finishing fourth on the 1-meter with a five-dive total of 241.15. The top 19 spots on the 1-meter and top six finishers in the 3-meter advanced. Aguero took a 16th-place finish on the platform with a score of 220.25; only the top seven advanced.
Santeiu earned his way into the championship round with a 320.95 on the 1-meter board to finish fourth. He also posted a 306.95 to take seventh place in the platform preliminary, earning one of 20 spots in that event. Santeiu also competed in the 3-meter prelim, scoring 272.65 to finish 40th.
Beran will join Santeiu in the platform quarterfinal after finishing 15th in the preliminary round with a score of 268.75. He finished 30th in the 1-meter prelim with a 262.95 and took 17th on the 3-meter board with a 302.50.
Freshmen Shanna Schuelein and Cinzia Calabretta also competed in the preliminary round. Calabretta earned a 12th-place finish in the platform event with a score of 243.90. She took 41st place in 1-meter with a 197.90 and finished 50th on 3-meter with a 196.85.
Schuelein earned a 28th-place finish in the 1-meter event with a 205.80 and a 23rd-place showing on 3-meter with a 237.20.
The championship portion of the meet gets underway Saturday. Dantin will compete in the women's platform quarterfinal at 1 p.m. ET, then she will join Aguero in the 1-meter semifinal at 3:30 p.m. The meet runs through Thursday, and a full schedule of events with Auburn divers is listed below. Live results are available through divemeets.com.
2012 USA DIVING WINTER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday, Dec. 17
1 p.m. - Women's Platform Quarterfinal (Dantin)
3:30 p.m. - Women's 1M Semifinal (Dantin, Aguero)
Sunday, Dec. 18
10 a.m. - Women's Platform Semifinal
6 p.m. - Women's 1M Final
Followed by Women's Platform Final
Monday, Dec. 19
(No Auburn divers competing)
Tuesday, Dec. 20
1 p.m. - Women's 3M Quarterfinal (Dantin, Aguero)
3:30 p.m. - Men's 1M Semifinal (Santeiu)
Wednesday, Dec. 21
10 a.m. - Women's 3M Semifinal
2 p.m. - Men's Platform Quarterfinal (Santeiu, Beran)
6 p.m. - Men's 1M Final
Followed by Women's 3M Final
Thursday, Dec. 22
10 a.m. - Men's Platform Semifinal
2 p.m. - Men's Platform Final