Duncan & Lohman Final In One-Meter Diving

Wednesday, December 13

Greensboro, N.C.

All Day

North Carolina

USA Diving Nationals

Maria Lohman finished fifth in one-meter diving at U.S. Nationals.

December 13, 2017 | Swimming & Diving

Tar Heels compete at U.S. Diving Winter National Championships

By: Dave Lohse

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Wednesday proved to be a good day for University of North Carolina divers at the USA Diving Winter National Championships, being held this week at the Greensboro Aquatics Center. Both men and women competed on the one-meter springboard.

The best divers from across the country have come together to contend for 10 individual National Championships to be decided over the next week and UNC has four Tar Heels in the competition.

The women's 1-meter contest was a nail biter and too close for comfort. Senior Elissa Dawson placed 11^th; just 7.1 points shy of making the top 8 finalists. She dove consistently, however, she missed one dive and fell short of finals. Maria Lohman, UNC junior, ended up seventh in prelims, qualifying for finals.

"In finals Maria looked strong and sharp," UNC diving coach Abel Sanchez said. "It was great watching her compete against the nation's best, because she's one of the best in the nation in her own right. As everyone yo-yoed in and out of the top spot, Lohman ended up fifth overall."

In the men's one-meter event, red-shirt junior Sean Burston had a rough day, ending in 18^th place. Freshman Greg Duncan teetered in the beginning of his prelims diving list, however, he ended up strong, qualifying into the finals in sixth place.

"In finals, Greg started off hot, but the judges were not giving anything away," Coach Sanchez explained. Since the scores carried over from prelims, Duncan found himself in a hole and did a great job climbing out of it. Duncan missed the bronze medal by 3.1 points. "It was great to watch Greg fight back from his deficit and contend for the bronze," said Sanchez.

Tomorrow's events are men's 3-meter prelims and semifinals, and women's 10-meter prelims and semifinals. Tomorrow, Greg Duncan competes in the men's three-meter events, and Friday both Elissa Dawson and Maria Lohman take their turns at the three-meter title.