Diving Makes a Splash in N.J.

This weekend was a mixed bag for the men’s and women’s diving teams as they competed in their first coed meet of the season at the Princeton Diving Invitational in Princeton, N.J.

In the 3-meter competition against Princeton (Columbia and Yale were at the tournament, but did not compete against Harvard), sophomore Enrique Roy took third place and sophomore Tom Crahan placed fifth.

The next morning, the Crimson improved upon its strong 3-meter showing in the 1-meter contest. Roy’s first dive was a front 2.5 pike, and he received scores of eight from both judges. His next dive, a reverse 2.5 tuck, also received eights from both judges.

“My first two dives set the precedent for the rest of the list,” Roy said. “They set the tone for the rest of the meet.”

Roy earned a score of 338.03 in the 1-meter competition to win first place. He also qualified for NCAAs, far surpassing the 300-point cutoff.

“I think that Tom and I stepped up our competition level for the 1-meter,” Roy said. “I think that he had the best meet of his life and I think that I had the best meet of my life.”

Crahan scored 277.28 points to take fourth in the competition.

Senior Erik Frost, who normally rounds out Harvard’s trio of male divers, was out with an injury and did not compete last weekend.

The Crimson women also excelled on the 1-meter this weekend. Unlike the men, who had their two competitions over the course of two days, the women dove 3-meter in the afternoon after having the 1-meter meet in the morning. The women spent the entire day at the pool, and the long hours may have hurt them in the afternoon.

On the 1-meter, freshman Coral Day Davis earned third place with a score of 270.52, with sophomore Renee Paradise and freshman Anne Osmun coming in fourth and fifth, respectively. Sophomore Laura Cowen did not finish far behind in seventh place.

The 3-meter competition was less successful for Harvard, with the Crimson only landing the fourth through seventh places.

“On 3-meter we were all throwing some new dives,” Cowen said. “Because the dives are so new, we need to be working on them more to become more consistent, but it is good that we competed in them for the experience.”

Cowen and Paradise both threw inward 2.5 flips for the first time in competition and Day Davis debuted her reverse 2.5 flip. These dives are harder than previous dives the Crimson had been using in competition.

The women’s team also had the opportunity to participate in a platform competition, which is rare for Harvard’s team. The Tigers have a full array of platforms at their pool, while Harvard only has a 7-meter. Princeton was better prepared for the contest and took first and second places.

Even though the Crimson only faced Princeton in head-to-head battle, the Harvard divers were able to watch the Yale and Columbia teams compete.

“It was good to see Columbia because they are coming to us on Sunday and it’s good to see them ahead of time,” said Cowen.

The next test for the Crimson women will come in the form of Columbia and Penn at home on Sunday at 1p.m., and the men will next compete at Navy in January.