Dumais wins a second gold; Brennan also wins gold at AT&T USA Diving Grand Prix

(Troy Dumais won the 3-meter at the AT&T Grand Prix. Photo courtesy of the US Olympic Committee)

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA (May 10, 2009) Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif./Austin, Texas) and Allison Brennan (Huntington Beach, Calif./ Columbia, S.C.) won gold medals Saturday at the AT&T USA Diving Grand Prix on Saturday, to lead a U.S. team that won four medals on the final day of competition and eight total over the three-day event.

Dumais scored 512.00 points the win the men’s 3-meter, highlighted by scores of 96.25 and 94.50 on his final two dives to give him another Grand Prix gold after placing first on 3-meter synchro on Friday. Reuben Ross of Canada was second with 483.75 points, and USA’s Chris Colwill (Brandon, Fla./Athens, Ga.) claimed bronze at 473.45.

“I can’t ask for more. The first round was not what I’m capable of, but other than that, I’m happy. I had five solid dives,” Dumais said.

Allison Brennan (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia, S.C) won the women’s 3-meter gold with 358.55, with a best of 76.85 on her final dive. Russia’s Anastasia Pozdniakova was second at 340.55, and Canada’s Jennifer Abel took bronze with 331.95 points. Christina Loukas (Riverwoods, Ill./Bloomington, Ind.) scored 319.95 points for fifth.

“All the divers I go against are talented, and it’s an honor to be up against them. You’re competing against the best in the world, but I can only do what I can do,” Brennan said.

Brittany Viola (Orlando, Fla./Coral Gables, Fla.) won the battle for silver on women’s platform with 329.15 points, less than a point ahead of Canada’s Meaghan Benfeito, who scored 328.35 points for third. Roseline Filion, also of Canada, claimed the gold at 338.40. Kristen Asman (Columbus, Ohio) was sixth at 261.10.

“I had a lot of energy, and my performance was where I needed it to be,” Viola said. “It’s been a lot of fun.”

Great Britain’s Tom Daley scored 17 10s on his last three dives – including a perfect seven 10s on his back 3 ½ tuck in round five – to edge out Germany’s Sascha Klein for the gold. Daley finished with 554.90 points, with Klein scoring 552.15 for silver. China’s Zhou Luxin was third at 549.70. USA’s Thomas Finchum (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Nick McCrory (Chapel Hill, N.C.) were fourth and fifth, scoring 520.00 and 514.00 points, respectively.

Cougar Diving Club to Host Junior National Championships April 3-5

HOUSTON,TEXAS (April 2, 2009) The Cougar Diving Club, coached by Houston head diving coach Jane Figueiredo, will host the Spring West Junior Olympic National Championships on April 3-5 at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium.

This weekend over 250 of the nation’s best divers, ages 11-18, will be in Houston to compete at the Championships.

Friday’s competition will begin at 1:30 p.m., with the Opening Ceremonies scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. The meet will continue at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and will conclude on Sunday at 11 a.m.

An autograph session will be held from 3-9 p.m. on Friday night where fans can get the chance to meet Olympic Gold Medalists Laura Wilkinson, Yulia Pakhalina, Vera IIyina and Olympic Silver Medalist and current Cougar diver Anastasia Pozdniakova.

Various raffle items will also be available. Tickets cost $2 and the winners will be announced on Sunday.

Admission to the Championships is $6 per day or $15 for a weekend pass.

Two U.S. Diver Advance to Finals in Beijing

By Olivia Dodson
Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications

BEIJING, CHINA (August 17, 2008) Conroe, Texas' Nancilea Foster and Christina Loukas of Riverwoods, Illinois advanced to today's final in the women's 3m springboard as a result of the semi-final competition which was held Saturday evening at the National Aquatics Center.

Foster was fourth with a score of 338.90, 59.65 points behind the leader, Guo Jingjing of China. Loukas was seventh with a 329.00.

Julia Pakhalina of Russia, who trains at the University of Houston under coach Jane Figueiredo was second with a 383.50, while China's Wu Minxia was third at 345.30.

The finals are scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Sunday evening, August 17.

SIX CHAMPIONS CROWNED AT SPEEDO JUNIOR NATIONALS

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS (August 8, 2008) Steele Johnson (Carmel, Ind.), Kassidy Cook
(The Woodlands, Texas) and Michelle Cabassol (Montgomery, Texas) captured their
second junior national titles of the meet on Friday at the 2008 Speedo Junior National Diving Championships. Other winners included Grace Fulwider (Brownsburg, Ind.), Grayson Campbell (Vienna, Va.) and Michael Hixon (Amherst, Mass.).

The Starz Diving Club's Johnson claimed the gold in the boys 12-13 platform event by a 35 point margin over silver medalist Mark Anderson (Lake Forest, Calif.) of the Mission Viejo Nadadores. Johnson finished with 350.70 points to Anderson's 315.70 points. Dashiell Enos (Studio City, Calif.) of the Trojan Dive Club took the bronze with 312.20 points.

In the girls 12-13 3-meter event, the Woodlands Diving Academy's Cook claimed the gold with 331.15 points. It was Cook's fourth junior national title of her young career. Sarah Bacon (Indianapolis, Ind.) of the Starz Diving Club picked up her second silver medal of the meet by finishing with 307.60 points and Gracia Leydon-Mahoney (Newton, Mass.) took the bronze with 301.00 points.

Hixon pulled away from the field in the boys 14-15 3-meter event to capture the gold by 24 points over runner up Alexander Fincher (North Richland Hills, Texas). Hixon finished with 430.45 points to Finsher's 406.10 points. Montgomery Dive Club's Timothy Faerber (Potomac, Md.) claimed the bronze with 400.60 points.

In the girls 14-15 1-meter event, the Woodlands Diving Academy's Cabassol topped her teammate Kaylea Arnett (Spring, Texas) for the second day in a row to win gold with 365.05 points. Arnett finished with 346.25 points to claim her second silver medal of the championships. San Antonio Divers' Kathryn Connolly (San Antonio, Texas) finished third with 339.70 points.

The Starz Diving Club's Fulwider took gold in the girls 11 and under platform event with 203.70 points. Eszter Pryor (New Albany, Ohio) of U.S. Elite Diving Academy captured the silver with 186.85 points and Whirlwind Diving's Elizabeth Fitzpatrick (Darien, Conn.) earned the bronze with 177.75 points.

In the boys 11 and under 1-meter event, Dominion Dive Club's Campbell captured the gold by 13 points over runner-up Ian Shelton (Vienna, Va.) of the Patriot Dive Club. The Soaring Eagles Dive Club's Bradley Butcher (East Berlin, Pa.) took the bronze with 212.75 points.

Texas Divers Compete for Spots on World Cup Team

By Robert H. Kelly
(Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications)

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (January 14, 2008) USA Diving has invited 32 divers to its 2008 World Cup team selection camp, set for January 20-24 in Columbus, Ohio. The list included seven divers from Texas, who are listed below:

Harrison Jones (Spring, Texas): 3 meter springboard, 10 meter platform
JJ Kinzbach (Montgomery, Texas): 10 meter platform
Drew Livingston (The Woodlands, Texas): 10 meter platform
Heather Bounds (Round Rock, Texas): 10 meter platform, 10 meter synchronized platform
Nancilea Foster (Spring, Texas): 3 meter springboard, 3meter synchronized springboard
Laura Wilkinson (Spring, Texas): 10 meter platform, 10 meter synchronized platform
Jessica Livingston (The Woodlands, Texas): 10 meter platform, 10 meter synchronized platform

Jones, Kinzback, Foster, Wilkinson, and Drew and Jessica Livingston dive for the Woodlands Diving Club, while Bounds dives for the Longhorn Diving Club in Austin.

The FINA World Cup, an Olympic qualifying meet, will be held February 19-24 in Beijing. Competition will be conducted in four events for both men and women: 3-meter, 10-meter, synchronized 3-meter and synchronized 10-meter. The U.S. may enter two divers on each individual event and one team per synchronized event.

The United States has already secured six out of a possible 12 Olympic spots and will be looking to fill its additional spots at the World Cup. The U.S. still needs to earn one individual spot for men’s 3-meter and women’s 10-meter, two individual spots for men’s 10-meter, and one spot each for both women’s synchronized diving events. The U.S. earned its other spots at the 2007 World Championships.

USA Diving will use the World Cup selection camp to choose teams to compete at 2008 Grand Prix meets in China and Russia as well.