Boudia, Johnson, Johnston and Ryan Qualify For World Champs at USA Diving Synchronized National Championships

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

GREENSBORO – David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind./West Lafayette, Ind.) and Steele Johnson (Carmel, Ind./West Lafayette, Ind.) won the men’s synchronized 10-meter national title Sunday at the inaugural USA Diving Synchronized National Championships to earn a berth to the World Championships, while Abby Johnston (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Durham, N.C.) and Laura Ryan (Elk River, Minn./Athens, Ga.) qualified for the World Championships in women’s synchronized 3-meter after winning their second national title together. Tarrin Gilliland (Liberty Hill, Texas/City of Midland Aquatics) and Sophia McAfee (San Marino, Calif./Trojan Dive Club) won their second gold together this week, winning the 13-and-under girls’ 1-meter title after already pairing together for gold on 3-meter.

Boudia and Johnson dominated the 10-meter synchro contest with 950.46 points. Their reverse 3 ½ tuck in the prelims earned 100.98 points, having received 10s from seven of the 11 judges. They did the dive even better in the final, when nine judges awarded them 10s for 102 points. They also received eight 10s on their inward 3 ½ tuck and six 10s on their inward dive pike in the finals.

“I think having the combined Synchro Nationals and not having the seniors and juniors at separate events was great. It was really exciting to be alongside a 13-year-old who might look up to you, and hopefully I could encourage some of the younger divers. It was a really fun atmosphere to be in with all these people who love the sport,” said Boudia, the 2012 Olympic champion on platform. “This was a good start to the season for me and Steele. We were excited to dive as well as we did and qualify for the World Championships. We’ve got some work to do, but I think we’re in a great position.”

Zach Cooper (Trafalgar, Ind.) and Ryan Hawkins (Charlotte, N.C./Blacksburg, Va.) were second with 759.03 points.

Johnston and Ryan finished the women’s 3-meter synchro finalwith 626.40 points over two lists of dives to earn the World Championships berth and the national title. They led by 15.9 after the preliminaries and extended their lead with a strong performance in the finals, with all three of their optional dives scoring more than 70 points. Their best dive came in round four, when their inward 2 ½ pike received 75.60 points.

“Today went really well. The score for our optionals on our second list was one of our highest ever, so that was a good showing for us and gives us a lot of confidence going into World Championships,” said Johnston, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist in synchronized 3-meter.

Johnston and Ryan finished fifth in a FINA Grand Prix meet in Mexico last week, and Ryan felt that meet helped prepare them for nationals.

“(Mexico) just gave us so much confidence coming in here. We knew our timing was perfect, so all we had to do was focus on our own dives. Mexico was essentially a whole week of training for us. I’m just so excited. It’s my first World Championships, and I’m pumped to have this opportunity,” Ryan said.

Deidre Freeman (Grinnell, Iowa/Iowa City, Iowa) and Maren Taylor (Arlington, Va./Austin, Texas) finished second with 597.60 points, while Taylor also earned bronze with Emma Ivory-Ganja (The Woodlands, Texas). They scored 587.40 points for third.

Gilliland and McAfee scored 579.84 points over two lists of 1-meter dives for the gold. Gilliland also won a silver medal on the event, pairing with Remi Edvalson (Saratoga, Calif./Stanford Diving) for 551.82 points for second place. GC Diving teammates Hailey Hernandez (Southlake, Texas) and Allison Ward (Southlake, Texas/GC Diving) were third with 526.26 points.

In all, 16 national titles were awarded at the inaugural Synchronized National Championships. The meet determined the U.S. rosters in synchronized events for the World Championships and the Junior Pan American Championships. The nationals will also determine the U.S. team for the Pan American Games, although that team will not be finalized until after next month’s individual World Championships trials.

Results

13andU – Synchro. Girls 1m Springboard (Final)

1. Sophia Mcafee (Trojan Dive Club) / Tarrin Gilliland (City of Midland), 579.84;2. Remi Edvalson (Stanford Diving) / Tarrin Gilliland (City of Midland), 551.82;3. Hailey Hernandez (GC Diving) / Allison Ward (GC Diving), 526.26;4. Francesca Noviello (Stanford Diving) / Supisara Shauntel Lim (Stanford Diving), 523.20;5. Remi Edvalson (Stanford Diving) / Lauren Okamoto (Stanford Diving), 506.58;6. Hailey Roberson (Stanford Diving) / Supisara Shauntel Lim (Stanford Diving), 497.85;7. Francesca Noviello (Stanford Diving) / Elena Yeh (Arrow Dive Club), 478.80;8. Isabella Coburn (Unattached) / Toree Easterwood (City of Midland), 462.27;9. Amy Wotovich (West Florida Lightning Aquatics) / Anneliese Foltz (Unattached), 458.97;10. Julia Fidanza (City of Midland) / Madalyn Freece (West Chester Diving), 453.00;11. Miah Fisher (Alexandria Dive Club) / Anne Fowler (Alexandria Dive Club), 452.67;12. Lexi Lehman (Parkland Diving) / Katharine Gottwald (Unattached), 433.26;

Eliminated after preliminaries

13. Meera Kasturi (High Dive Champions) / Louisa Thompson (High Dive Champions), 197.58;14. Madelyn Seltzer (Marlins Diving Club) / Devon Ott (Marlins Diving Club), 197.16;15. Olivia Rosen (Coral Springs Diving) / Chloe Bishop (Coral Springs Diving), 196.14;16. Haley Marshall (Montgomery Dive Club) / Genevieve Thibodeau (Montgomery Dive Club), 195.96;17. Genevieve Thibodeau (Montgomery Dive Club) / Madison Reese (Montgomery Dive Club), 194.37;18. Saylor Kirsch (Marlins Diving Club) / Casey Kirsch (Marlins Diving Club), 190.14;19. Jessica Paul (Duke Diving) / Ashton Zuburg (Duke Diving), 190.08;20. Kamryn Wong (GC Diving) / Isabelle LeBlanc (GC Diving), 189.00;21. Mary O’Neill (American Flyers Diving) / Hannah Zahniser (American Flyers Diving), 187.20;22. Sammantha Helmboldt (Tucson Diving Team) / Isabella Plantz (Tucson Diving Team), 186.06;23. Bailey Noble (North Carolina Diving) / Clara Tate (North Carolina Diving), 185.67;24. Malaina Humphreys (Mile High Dive Club) / Isabel Gregersen (Mile H igh Dive Club), 185.40;25. Allison Hallstrand (Duke Diving) / Jessica Paul (Duke Diving), 180.24;26. Morgan Manley (Mile High Dive Club) / Geneva Pauly (Mile High Dive Club), 175.05;27. Cecilia Cobb (Kentucky Diving Club) / Elaine Patterson (Kentucky Diving Club), 156.96;28. Caroline Lilly (Mile High Dive Club) / Catherine Rodocker (Mile High Dive Club), 156.24;29. Reagan Patterson (Kentucky Diving Club) / Mason Duncan (Kentucky Diving Club), 154.56;30. Bryze Sanchez (North Carolina Diving) / Maizie Sanchez (North Carolina Diving), 146.55;31. Charlotte Norman (Duke Diving) / Tea Bowers (Duke Diving), 145.32;32. Victoria Blechschmid (American Flyers Diving) / Courtney Keane (American Flyers Diving), 133.29;

Synchronized Women 3m Springboard (Final)

1. Laura Ryan (Unattached) / Abby Johnston (Duke Aquatics), 626.40;2. Deidre Freeman (Unattached) / Maren Taylor (Longhorn Aquatics), 597.60;3. Emma Ivory-Ganja (Longhorn Aquatics) / Maren Taylor (Longhorn Aquatics), 587.40;4. Ariel Rittenhouse (Stanford Diving) / Amanda Burke (Penn State Diving), 585.90;5. Deidre Freeman (Unattached) / Jessica Parratto (TriSynerG Diving Academy), 578.40;6. Emily Grund (GC Diving) / Mackenzie Willborn (GC Diving), 543.18;7. Meghan Houston (Longhorn Aquatics) / Michole Timm (North Carolina Diving), 532.50;8. Olivia Rosendahl (Unattached) / Haley Allen (City of Midland), 521.40;

Eliminated after preliminaries

9. Nikki Watters (Ohio State Diving Club) / Grace Cable (YCF Diving Team), 255.57;10. Mackenzie Willborn (GC Diving) / Bridget O’Neil (GC Diving), 252.90;11. Cheyenne Cousineau (University of Miami) / Meghan Houston (Longhorn Aquatics), 249.30;12. Brooke Schultz (RipFest) / Sarah Bacon (RipFest), 227.70;13. Lauren Reedy (Mizzou Diving) / Elissa Dawson (North Carolina Div ing), 225.51;14. Karlee Price (Divingwell) / Gabriella Comunale (Unattached), 221.40;15. Kassidy Cook (Unattached) / Samantha Pickens (Tucson Diving Team), 220.92;16. Jocelyn Porter (Carolina Diving Academy) / Christy Cutshaw (North Carolina Diving), 219.24;17. Meme Sharp (Unattached) / Maria Lohman (Pitt Aquatic Club), 219.00;18. Alison Maillard (Unattached) / Alison Gibson (Team A and M Diving), 217.80;19. Maysi Richards (GC Diving) / Bridget O’Neil (GC Diving), 210.54;20. Emily Grund (GC Diving) / Maysi Richards (GC Diving), 206.31;21. Gabriella Comunale (Unattached) / Megan Galbreath (Unattached), 201.72;22. Amy Stevens (RipFest) / Kristen Hayden (Duke Diving), 188.70;23. Kali Becker (Montgomery Dive Club) / Rachel Burston (Whirlwind Diving), 184.62;24. Ayaka Schmitz (Mile High Dive Club) / Katrin Lewis (Mile High Dive Club), 179.46;25. Adriane Tam (Pacific Diving Academy USA, Inc) / Alyson Tam (Pacific Diving Academy USA, Inc), 178.68;26. Amy Stevens (RipFest) / Carolin a Sculti (Marlins Diving Club), 177.90;27. Averly Hobbs (Mile High Dive Club) / Alexandra Hafey (Mile High Dive Club), 172.50;

Synchronized Men Platform (Final)

1. David Boudia (Boiler Diving Academy) / Steele Johnson (Purdue University), 950.46;2. Zachary Cooper (RipFest) / Ryan Hawkins (H2okie Aquatics), 759.03;3. Mark Anderson (Longhorn Aquatics) / Brandon Loschiavo (Mission Viejo), 351.06;4. David Dinsmore (Unattached) / Brandon Loschiavo (Mission Viejo), 336.63;

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World. To reach our audience, contact us at newsmaster@swimmingworl d .com.

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