Sports
Ohio Competes in Dive-Only Tournament over Weekend
By: Justin Cudahy
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The Ohio diving team traveled to the University of Buffalo to take on their conference foes, along with the University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts, and Niagara University in a three-day, dive-only competition this past weekend. Despite a rocky performance in the first two days, the team finally struck gold in its final day, thanks to sophomore Dillon Harper.
The invitational kicked off on Friday with the Women 3m Championship (6 dives), which included three Bobcats in the event. In the preliminary round, it was Olivia Dillon representing Ohio, who earned a spot in the finals among 13 other divers after placing 7th with a score of 247.75. In the finals, the sophomore started off strong in her first two dives, scoring a combined 97.95 points and keeping in the top three. However, after scoring a 28.75 in the third round and a 23.80 following that, Dillon found herself finishing eighth overall in the finals, with a combined score of 231.35.
On Saturday, The Bobcats competed in the 1m Championship (6 dives). In the preliminary round, it was Dillon once again representing the team in the finals after finishing the qualifiers with a score of 223.05, taking the final spot away from teammate Nicole Hughes by only a margin of 2.20. In the finals, Dillon finished in sixth place after scoring a combined 243.15 points through six rounds.
The invitational concluded on Sunday with the Platform Event (5 dives), where the Bobcats finally made it to the top of the leaderboards. In the preliminary round, it was only Dillon representing Ohio against six other women who qualified for the finals. For the third straight time, Dillon finished second with a score 217.35. In the final round, the sophomore scored more than 54.0 points in the first three rounds, her highest being a 57.60 off a Back 2 ½ Somersault 1 ½ Twist Free on her second dive. Despite a shaky fourth round in which she scored a 35.70, Dillon earned a 45.50 in the final round, maintaining her first-place spot in the end with a final score of 249.20, 32.35 points more than the runner up.
The Bobcats (1-3) will look to improve their record when they return to Athens to host both Dusquesne and Xavier at 1:00 p.m. this Saturday.