University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
SEC Diving Championships
Helms Wears Silver Again
February 12, 2011 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 12, 2011
Drew Rutherford
UTsports.com
Tennessee junior Ryan Helms earned his second silver medal of the SEC Diving Championships, this one in the men's 3-meter championship at Florida's O'Connell Center Natatorium.
"Ryan dove well this evening, but just came up a little short in a very competitive contest," diving coach Dave Parrington said. "He missed one dive just a little bit and I thought that put him in the hole. But he hung tough and was able to finish strong."
The Moultrie, Ga., native came up just shy of first place with 407.15 points. Auburn's Daniel Mazzaferro won the top spot on a 415.75-point score.
"I had fun out there but it was tough not having anyone else in the finals with me," Helms said. "I'm pleased with the day, but I'm not satisfied with the finish."
Brent Sterling, Michael Wright and Jordan Mauney just missed the cut for the final. Sterling finished ninth with 333.40 points, Wright behind him in 10th with 332.90 points and Mauney finished 12th with 324.15 points. While they won't be competing in Saturday evening's final, they will all score for the Big Orange.
"Obviously, I wanted all four of our guys to final, but I knew it would be a little tight today," Parrington said. "Brent really battled and scrapped and just missed it. Mike was diving solidly but missed his last dive and wasn't able to make it. I am very pleased with how Jordan finished."
The 2011 SEC Diving Championships wrap up Sunday with the platform competition. Preliminaries begin at 11 a.m. and live streaming video can be found at www.UTsports.com.
"We need to come in tomorrow and have a great performance," Parrington said. "We have four guys who are going to come in here and go at it."
SCORING REPORT:
1. Daniel Mazzaferro (AU) 415.75; 2. Ryan Helms (UT) 407.15; 3. John Santeiu (AU) 388.20; 4. Adam Booher (UA) 382.20; 5. Daniel Helm (LSU) 380.70; 6. Anthony Lewark (UF) 376.35; 7. Greg Ferucci (UK) 367.65; 8. Thad Ellis (AU) 353.65; 9. Brent Sterling (UT) 333.40; T-10. Michael Wright (UT) 332.90; T-10. Sean McKinney (LSU) 332.90; 12. Jordan Mauney (UT) 324.15; 13. John Speed (UF) 323.05; 14. Mike Lewark (UF) 310.85; 15. Brian Gemberling (LSU) 306.10; 16. Alex Watson (UGA) 300.55
TEAM SCORES:
1. Tennessee 91.5, 2. Auburn 85; 3. LSU 36.5; 4. Alabama 30; 5. Florida 27; 6. Kentucky 26; 7. Georgia 14; 8. South Carolina 0
Players Mentioned
