The Texas divers wrapped up the UT Diving Invitational with three wins in three days. The men grabbed two wins and at least two women placed in the top 10 each day.
The men jumped right in Thursday in the 1-meter event. Senior Cory Bowersox placed second with a score of 404.30, and junior Sean O’Brien took third with 392.10.
Longhorns filled three of the top four places in the men’s 3-meter event Friday. Junior Mark Anderson won with a score of 458.15. Bowersox came in second with 448.75, and O’Brien took fourth with 418.90 points. O’Brien earned heavy applause from spectators and judges for his perfect-10 score from one judge on his back two-and-a-half somersault.
Anderson won the platform event Saturday with 451.95 points.
Diving coach Matt Scoggin said the team’s performances this weekend reflect months of meticulous practice.
“We’ve really tried to get some consistent hurdles and takeoffs,” Scoggin said. “A real plan that we’ve put together of working on the takeoffs and their consistency. All three of them ended that [this weekend].”
The Longhorn women saw their share of victories as well. Senior Meghan Houston won the 1-meter event Friday with a score of 315.65, and freshman Meghan O’Brien took fifth place with 301.85 points.
Houston trailed California freshman Phoebe Lamay for most of the finals but pulled away with her fifth dive, a reverse one-and-a-half somersault.
“I knew it was pretty close,” Houston said. “I told myself to relax and do that dive like I do in practice, and I knew it was going to be there.”
Houston also placed eighth in the 3-meter Thursday with 306.95 points. Freshman Sofia Rauzi led Texas in the 3-meter event with a sixth-place score of 321.55. Rauzi finished the meet with a third-place finish in the platform event Saturday on a score of 270.35. The freshman earned top-10 marks in every event she entered this weekend.
Scoggins said volunteer coach Rick Schavone, a U.S. Olympic diving coach and former Stanford head coach, contributed to the team’s success.
“We’re really fortunate to have [him],” Scoggin said. “We have two sets of eyes working on the same thing.”
Texas divers resume competition at the USA Diving Winter Nationals on Dec. 15-20. The swimmers host the Texas Invitational meet Dec. 2-5.
