UCLA
Bruin Diving Invitational
Belanger Takes Platform Title on Day Two of Bruin Diving Invite
January 19, 2019 | Swimming & Diving
LOS ANGELES โ Another day brought another win for UCLA at the Diving Bruin Invitational, as senior Eloise Belanger followed up Maria Polyakova's 3-meter diving championship on Friday with a platform victory of her own on Saturday afternoon at Spieker Aquatics Center.
The reigning Pac-12 Diver of the Year, who led the 3-meter prelims and finished runner-up to Polyakova in the finals yesterday, finished atop the 44-diver field with a score of 539.50. Her mark of 274.50 was tops after the five-round prelims, and she maintained her position atop the charts through the final. Though this weekend marks her first appearance with UCLA this campaign, her prelim score was good enough to qualify her for NCAA Zone Championships in platform.
"I've only been back since Christmas so I didn't have much time to train, so today wasn't my best performance, but it was good," said Belanger. "It can only go up from here."
After opening the prelims with a 46.00 on her first attempt, Belanger would go on to score 50.00 or better on all but one of her remaining dives the rest of the day. She scored over 60 both times while performing the second dive on her list, a back 2 ยฝ somersault pike from 10 meters.
A breakout debut weekend for Eloise Belanger continues, as she follows up her 2nd place finish in 3m with a first place in Saturday's platform championship!
โ UCLA Swim And Dive (@UCLASwimAndDive) January 19, 2019
Her score of 539.90 also qualified her for NCAA Zone Championships!
Here's her highest-scored dive in her finals list: pic.twitter.com/tp3VuOdWKn
"Eloise had missed some training because of the holidays and then getting sick. But she's a pro, she's a vet, so she knows what she needs to do," said UCLA head diving coach Tom Stebbins. "She managed herself really well and did some really good things up there. Her entries were really good today, she literally has one of the best entries in the country, so to see her be able to do that off of low numbers of repetition is a good sign."
Fellow senior Traci Shiver had a highlight-reel day of her own, finishing sixth in the competition with a score of 477.45. That total includes a score of 241.40 in the finals, which establishes a new season-best on tower for her. She already qualified for Zones earlier this year with a 241.00 at the Georgia Fall Invitational on Dec. 1, 2018.
Performing a full 10-meter list, Shiver scored 50 or higher on three of her five dives in the finals, and missed out on a fourth by just 0.05 points.
Special shout-out as well to senior Traci Shiver, who made the most of Senior Day and posted a score of 477.47 (including a season-high 241.40 in the finals!#GoBruins | #BruinDivingInvite pic.twitter.com/eeUPQBzl1G
— UCLA Swim And Dive (@UCLASwimAndDive) January 19, 2019
The Bruins' Madeline Russell had a tantalizing day, placing 13th in prelims ย โ just outside the 12-diver cutline for the finals โ and finishing within 10 points of qualifying for Zones at 215.60. She made a late charge, scoring day-best 48.60 on her final two dives, but she finished just short.
Sophomore Alice Yanovsky was the 22nd-place finisher at 184.60. She qualified for the finals and placed 11th in Friday's 3-meter championship.
The Bruins look to make it three wins in three days on Sunday, as the Bruin Diving Invitational closes with the women's 1-meter championship and men's platform championship.
Players Mentioned
