Jan. 3, 2012
ATHENS, Ga. - Auburn senior diver Anna Aguero kicked off the new year for the Tigers in style with a victory in the 1-meter final Tuesday on the opening day of the Georgia Diving Invitational, which runs through Thursday at the Gabrielsen Natatorium.
"Overall, it was good day for us," Auburn diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "Anna was really solid all day, winning the 1-meter and then winning the shootout. Half of the SEC is here, so we've seen everyone in the league now. We know where we need to be for the SEC Championships, so now it's a matter of just continuing to get better."
Aguero scored a 287.65 in the six-dive final to outpace Tennessee's Gabrielle Trudeau by 0.25 points to win for the first time this season. She was also the top qualifier in the preliminaries round with a 283.75.
Fellow senior Vennie Dantin took third place with a score of 282.55, continuing her excellent performances so far in 2011-12. In addition, she won the "shootout" in the evening session, where the top six divers competed in an elimination format. Freshman Cinzia Calabretta took 12th place with a 239.30, and Shanna Schuelein was 13th with a 229.55.
The Auburn men also performed well on the opening day with three of four Tigers advancing to the 3-meter finals. Sophomore John Santeiu was the top finisher for the Tigers with a score of 342.85 to take sixth place; he had the third-best qualifying score in prelims with a 354.30. He also finished third in the "shootout." Senior Adam Godzinski was one spot behind Santeiu in seventh place with a 337.75, and freshman Fraser McKean took 12th place with a 295.15. Freshman Michael Beran finished 29th in prelims with a 218.20.
Five SEC teams - LSU, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and Auburn - are competing at this week's meet, along with divers from SMU, Virginia, Penn State, Drexel and Iowa State.
The competition continues Wednesday with men's 1-meter and women's 3-meter events. Preliminaries get underway at 10 a.m. CT with finals to follow.