Blue Hen Diving Squads Set to Square Off Against West Chester and Towson in the Delaware Diving Invitational
February 4, 2011
Photos Courtesy of UD Photo Services
NEWARK, Del. - - With the swimming teams off, this weekend’s spotlight is shining on the University of Delaware men’s and women’s diving teams as they prepare to square off against Towson and West Chester in the Delaware Diving Invitational tomorrow in the Carpenter Sports Building.
Both the men’s and the women’s diving teams have totaled five first place finishes, with three of them coming from the 1-meter board throughout the course of the season.
Both squads are extremely young, consisting of four sophomores and two freshmen, but have already shown improvement on the scorecard, setting numerous personal and career records.
Sophomore Brian Coonce (top right) has led the men’s team, jumping out to a quick start at the beginning of the season posting victories in the 1-meter and 3-meter events against Georgetown on October 9. Coonce again took the 3-meter event at Towson, posting a team season and personal best 325.20 while claiming the top prize. Most recently, Coonce placed second in the 3-meter event against UMBC and William & Mary this past weekend with a score of 275.65. He also finished third in the 1-meter portion with a score of 240.75.
Freshman Seth Bergman has come out strong during the latter portion of the season, scoring a team season and personal best 293.18 at Towson from the 1-meter board. He took first place in the event, just 1.5 points better than Coonce in second place. His best 3-meter event took place during the La Salle and Rider meet, placing third with a score of 271.30.
Fellow freshman Nick Hoffman had his best meet of the season at Towson coming away with two new personal bests. He finished second in the 3-meter dive with a score of 245.55 and came in third in the 1-meter dive with new personal best 246.45.
On the women’s side, sophomore Erika Bilenki (bottom right) closes out the first place finishes, as she won the 1-meter event against UMBC and William & Mary with a score of 231.66. But it was her day at against Towson that has given her the team’s top spot in both events on the season. She posted a season best score of 275.03 from the 1-meter board and a 265.95 from the 3-meter board.
Fellow sophomore Heather Chucta had her best meet of the year at Towson, proving she is getting better each day as the season moves forward. She finished with a season best 232.58 points in the 1-meter event, four points off her career best.
Classmate Carly Sheppard has the second best 3-meter score on the team, placing third in the event against Georgetown with a score of 220.35. She again placed third the following meet against James Madison and George Mason in the 1-meter event, finishing with 224.25 points. Sheppard, who has not competed since the CAA Pod Meet at UNC Wilmington, has been battling an injury since November and hopes to return to the board this weekend.
West Chester, an NCAA Division II affiliated school competing in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, has eight divers on its men’s and women’s team rosters while Colonial Athletic Association foe Towson will bring its six divers from both squads to Rawstrom Natatorium. The diving will begin at 10 a.m.
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