California Baptist University
USC Dive Invite
Competing With The Best
11/8/2014 6:05:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving, Swimming and Diving
For the women's 1- and 3-meter events, CBU was up against an Olympian athlete in Haley Ishimatsu, who represented the USA in the 2008 Olympic and finished in fifth place in the Synchronized 10-meter platform competition.
On the 1-meter, Breanne Schlenger just missed out on making finals by 11 points, finishing in 16th with a score of 227.05. Lauren Skinner posted a 217.70 for 19th place, with both girls beating out divers from Azusa Pacific, USC, UCLA, Fresno State, Boise State, San Diego State, Cal Poly and San Jose State.
"Going up against some of the best in the world is a learning experience, but with experience comes confidence," said diving coach Jeff Couto. "The girls had a really competitive finish."
Schlenger and Skinner had a tough first round of completion on the 3-meter springboard. Schlenger grabbed a 204.45, while Skinner had a 183.75.
"Their degree of difficulty is there, they just missed their outs," said Couto.
The men divers found success on the boards, with Zach Mullins taking second place on the 1-meter springboard with a score of 226.35, just nudging out USC's Adam Payne by .20. Kendall Rummell (224.90) and Andrew Rotundo (188.25) also made it to the finals, placing fourth and sixth, respectively.
"These are some really good result for where we are at in the season and we will only continue to get better," said Couto. "If these guys continue to train like I know they can, we will be turning some heads at nationals this year!"
To finish the two-day meet, Zachary Mullind posted the highest score for the Lancers on the 3-meter board. Mullins took fourth with a score of 264.90, followed by Rummell in fifth with 236.25. Rotundo capped off the Top 7 with a score of 201.45 on the 3-meter board.
"I'm hoping for a 50+ point dive on the 3-meter, which would equal 300 points at the end of the competition" said Couto. "Zach was making progress towards that score, but we decided to throw a new, more challenging dive in completion to give him the experience he needs for nationals."
CBU will look to keep building on its performances week after week en route to the NCAA Division II Championship. The Lancers next compete at home with a dual with Pomona-Pitzer.
Players Mentioned
