Divers Conclude Georgia Diving Invitational

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas divers Meredith Brownell and Graylyn Jones both placed in the top 25 in the one-meter diving event at the Georgia Diving Invitational in Athens Ga., Jan. 3-4.
 
Brownell, a sophomore from Union, Ky., placed 22nd with a score of 234.50 on Friday afternoon in Gabrielsen Natatorium. Jones was close behind her at 25th, place when she accomplished a score of 228.05.
 
“This whole meet was to get more experience and gauge where we are,” diving coach Brian Pritt said. “Meredith and Graylyn did well yesterday and as a whole, we are just trying to see what things we need to work on. We are still young, so this meet was good to get exposure against a high level of competition.
 
Other divers in the one-meter included freshman Amanda Maser, who placed 39th (201.25), senior Alyssa Golden (40th/198.70) and sophomore Madeline Martin (45th/183.80).
 
The final event the Kansas divers competed in at the invitational was the three-meter dive on Saturday. The top finisher for Kansas was Brownell, who finished 29th with a score of 229.85. She was followed by Golden in 36th place (214.85), Martin in 42nd place (202.30), Maser in 47th place (188.75) and Jones in 52nd place (157.65).
 
“The nerves got the better of them today,” Pritt said. “The three-meter is more challenging because it’s a higher dive and the dives are more difficult. The competition was tough but we did have good three-meter practices last night and warm-ups this morning, I just think the meet jitters got to them.”
 
The divers will join the swimmers for a dual against Rollins College and the University of Tampa on Jan. 11. The event is set to start at 1 p.m. EST in Winter Park, Fla., on the campus of Rollins College.
 
“During winter training we are going to pick up the intensity and focus level so the nerves don’t take over,” Pritt said. “We need to be more focused on the process of getting better. We want to get rid of bad habits and build off of the experiences we had from this weekend. It’s going to be about making mechanical corrections.”