Gillis Claims 1-Meter Title On Final Dive
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A day after just missing the three-meter finals at the Tennessee Diving Invite, junior Nicole Gillis used her final dive in the one-meter finals Wednesday afternoon to surpass the leader and win the title with a score of 290.35.
Going into her final dive of the preliminary round, Gillis held strong in 12th place for three-straight dives before recording her best dive of the prelims on her final attempt with a score of 51.60 to jump to fourth. She finished the prelims in 10th place to advance to the next round of dives.
In the finals, Gillis jumped into the top five for the first time of the event following her fourth dive to pull within striking distance of the leader. She went into her final dive in fourth place, trailing the leader by 10.75 points. Gillis, saving her best dive for last, notched a score of 54.00 to take the lead and win the one-meter title.
Additional Arkansas divers Samantha Nelson (26th – 231.55), Molly Harvie (27th – 230.40), Caroline Welch (32nd – 223.80) and Marissa Green (33rd – 223.25) all finished in the top 35.
The Southeastern Conference dominated for the second consecutive day, as all 12 finalists were from the SEC.
The final day of competition from Knoxville, Tennessee, will begin Thursday morning at 10 a.m. CT from the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, where divers will compete in the women’s platform prelims. The top 12 divers in the event will move on to the afternoon finals that will immediately follow.
Live scoring can be found on DiveMeets.com.
3m Results – Tuesday, Jan. 3
Nicole Gillis (13th – 268.85)
Molly Harvie (23rd – 243.80)
Marissa Green (33rd – 232.35)
Caroline Welch (35th – 229.95)
Samantha Nelson (51st – 159.10)
1m Results – Wednesday, Jan. 4
Nicole Gillis (1st – 290.35)
Samantha Nelson (26th – 231.55)
Molly Harvie (27th – 230.40)
Caroline Welch (32nd – 223.80)
Marissa Green (33rd – 223.25)
Schedule of Events
Thursday, January 5
10 a.m. CT
Women’s Platform Prelims
12:20 p.m. CT
Women’s Platform Finals
For more information on Arkansas Swimming and Diving, follow @RazorbackSD on Twitter.
