University of Tennessee Athletics
Vol Divers Test the Waters at Invite
January 02, 2011 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Jan. 2, 2011
Tennessee divers' begin working on New Year's resolutions early as they look to improve their performances at the annual Tennessee Diving Invitational.
The yearly invite, in its third season, starts Monday, Jan. 3, and concludes Wednesday, Jan. 5.
More than 120 divers from 16 different schools will be competing at the Vols' Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center this week, and diving coach Dave Parrington aims to use this opportunity to get his divers ready for the championship season.
"I approach this invitational as a competitive training opportunity--yes, it is a competition, but we're training for SECs and for Zones right now, as well," Parrington said. "There is a competitive field here and the stakes are raised a little so it gives the meet that championship feel."
UT divers have enjoyed much success through the fall portion of the season and look to gain momentum heading into the final dual meets.
Senior co-captain Michael Wright led the way, earning SEC Diver of the Week honors after sweeping the one- and three-meter events against Louisville and setting pool and a school record on the one-meter. Junior Ryan Helms won his first event of the year at Kentucky and had a similarly strong showing at Ohio State. Sophomore Brent Sterling returned to action after redshirting during the 2009-10 season and Jordan Mauney has been building on a strong freshman campaign.
Each of the Vols' four divers is looking to gain a competitive edge while preparing to compete at the SECs and qualify for the NCAA championships at the Zone Championships in February and March. This meet allows for such preparation.
"Our guys are all in different spots," Parrington said. "Mike and Ryan have both competed and excelled at high levels and are our most-seasoned competitors. Brent was an NCAA qualifier his freshman year and he has been giving it all he's got every day training.
"While those other guys are experimenting a little bit, we are trying to do some things with Jordan to build some confidence. I expect a really strong performance from him and I think he could gain a lot from this meet."
Mauney finds that a positive attitude and getting to know the other competitors helps ease any nerves and boosts his pre-meet confidence more than anything.
"I have the mentality that this is going my best meet and try with each dive to fulfill that," Mauney, a Signal Mountain native, said. "This is an opportunity to make a good list for Zones and hopefully NCAAs. Before the meet I looked through all the names of everyone that will compete this week. It helps me stay calm if I know a lot of the people and I can talk during practices."
More than anything, the Tennessee Diving Invitational will allow UT's divers to try out and perfect new dives that than can score big points with during the championship season.
"We will throw some things out there this week and take a few risks," Parrington said. "We need as many competitive opportunities as we can get for these dives so that we can reap the benefits come March. Everything we're doing right now is getting ready for what's coming next."
Preliminary rounds of the men's one-meter and women's three-meter begin at noon on Monday and immediately followed by the championship round. Live results are available at www.DiveMeets.com.
Players Mentioned
