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THREE UT DIVERS SET FOR OLYMPIC TRIALS
Three divers with
University of Tennessee ties will compete this week at the U.S. Olympic
Diving Trials in Federal Way, Wash., for an opportunity to represent
the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Former
Vols Ryan Helms and Michael Wright will both be in action in the
3-meter springboard competition on Wednesday, while Tori Lamp, a rising
redshirt junior for the Lady Vols, will take to the platform on the
same day. The top 18 finishers will advance to the quarterfinals, with
the top 12 moving on to the semifinals later in the day.
“To
get anybody qualified for the U.S. Olympic Diving Trials is certainly a
huge honor,” Tennessee Head Diving Coach Dave Parrington said. “We have
three divers who achieved the opportunity to be able to dive in the
U.S. Olympic Trials, which is one of the toughest trials. I’m very
proud of Mike, Ryan and Tori and the fact that they are vying for that
opportunity is just an awesome thing.”
If any of the
Tennessee divers finish in the top 12, they will advance to the finals
on Sunday in hopes of finishing in the top two and traveling to London
as members of Team USA. The scores of each round will carry over into
the next, meaning the scores will be cumulative and not reset after
each round.
Wright, who exhausted his eligibility after
the 2010-11 season ranks second all-time in Tennessee history on the
3-meter boards, while Helms, the reigning 2012 Southeastern Conference
Male Diver of the Year, ranks fourth in the record books in the event.
“It
is a really good and deep field so Mike and Ryan are going to have to
be on their game,” Parrington said. “They are certainly not favorites
to make the team because a few guys have kind of separated themselves,
but they certainly have done enough to show that they are capable of
making the finals. Anybody that makes the finals is a world-level diver
and on any given day, something exciting can happen.”
Lamp
holds the school record in the platform, won the event at the
conference meet and finished runner up at the NCAA Championships. She
is also the 2012 SEC Female Diver of the Year and represented Team USA
at the Canada Cup with Helms.
“I’ve looked at the field
and Tori has competed and beaten every single diver at one time or
another,” Parrington explained. “Now the trick is to get up and do it
three times. She is certainly capable but some things have to go right
and she has to be able to withstand some pressure she hasn’t had
before. I expect Tori to be able to step up and I’m excited about her
chances.”
NBC Sports Network will have coverage of both
events Wednesday, as the action will be televised from 10 p.m. to 2
a.m. ET. The finals of both events will air Sunday from 3-6 p.m. A full
broadcast schedule can be found here.
After a round is complete, results are available on DiveMeets.com.
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