University of Tennessee Athletics
Jones Misses Olympics By One Place
June 11, 2004 | Men's Swimming & Diving
June 11, 2004
ST. PETERS, Mo.-- Tennessee junior diver Phillip Jones narrowly missed making the U.S. Olympic Team Friday, missing the cut by one place at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at the St. Peters Rec-Plex.
Entering the finals, Jones led Justin Wilcock of Centralized Training Center. On Friday, however, Jones fell behind early and couldn't catch up, finishing third with 1,073.13 points. Wilcock finished second with 1,117.83 points.
Troy Dumais, also of Centralized Training Center in The Woodlands, Texas, finished first with 1,151.37 points, but had already earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team when he qualified with his brother, Justin, in the three-meter synchronized event.
"It is gut wrenching (that Phillip didn't make the U.S. Olympic Team), but I'm really proud of him," UT diving coach Dave Parrington said. "We'll learn from this and make corrections towards the future."
Vols freshman Jevon Tarantino, who was in seventh entering the finals, finished with a strong round and a final score of 1,009.26 points.
"Jevon had an excellent finish," Parrington said. "He came in and had one of the highlight dives of the night. He is really happy with his performance tonight."
