Courtesy: Virginia Athletics
ANNAPOLIS, Md.– The Virginia men’s and women’s diving teams closed the opening day of the Navy Diving Invite on Thursday (Nov. 15) at Lejeune Hall, with senior Kylie Towbin (New Canaan, Conn.) setting a school record in the 3m dive.
“Today was a great day for our divers,” head diving coach Drew Livingston said. “The highlight was (Kylie) Towbin, (Sydney) Dusel and (Kirsten) Parkinson sweeping the top-three spots on the 3-meter with personal-best scores. Dusel broke Towbin’s school record in the prelims, and then Towbin turned around and took the record right back. As a coach, it was fun watching the athletes compete at a high level. That’s what our women did today across the board. I’m looking forward to seeing the men step up on the 3-meter and the women continue their momentum on the 1-meter tomorrow.”
Virginia finished 1-2-3 on the women’s 3m board as Towbin set a school record in the event with a score of 392.25. Junior Sydney Dusel (Naperville, Ill.) also topped UVA’s 3m record, recording a score of 368.95 in the preliminary round. She finished second overall, scoring 368.70 points in the finals. Senior Kirsten Parkinson (Stamford, Conn.) rounded out the top three, capturing a career-best score of 332.95. Her performance ranks fourth in school history.
Also advancing to the finals, sophomore Jocelyn Porter (Cornelius, N.C.) recorded a score of 281.10, finishing seventh on the 3m board.
Redshirt sophomore Bailey Mills (Evergreen, Colo.) finished 16th in the event with a score of 224.70, while freshman Emma Bulger (Reston, Va.) placed 21st with a score of 207.00.
In the men’s 1m dive, junior Bryce Shelton (Vienna, Va.) advanced to finals where he finished sixth with a score of 314.35. Shelton recorded a score of 351.90 in the preliminary rounds, where he finished third to earn a spot in the finals.
Freshman Walker Creedon (Cary, N.C.) recorded a score of 277.45 for 11th place, while sophomore Tristan Gess (Lakewood, Colo.) finished 17th with a score of 252.30.
“I’m pleased with the progress our divers are making under new coach Drew Livingston,” head men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach Todd DeSorbo said. “The athletes are working hard daily on the boards, they’re engaged and they’re bought in, and the results are showing. Two school records on one board is unreal. Congrats (to our divers) and we are looking forward to the rest of their competition.”
Virginia will return to action at the Navy Diving Invite at noon tomorrow as the women compete in the 1m dive and the men in the 3m dive.