Bowen Leads Virginia Divers Against Virginia Tech
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s and women’s diving teams opened the Cavaliers’ dual meet against Virginia Tech on Friday (Jan. 15) at the Aquatic and Fitness Center.
The Meet
Sophomore Charlotte Bowen (Dana Point, Calif.) led the Cavaliers with a second-place finish on both springboards. Bowen opened the meet with a career-best 3m score of 306.90, capturing the ninth-best dive by a performer in Cavalier history. She followed with a career-best score of 281.02 on the 1m board to again capture the ninth-best score by a Virginia diver.
The women’s team added third-place finishes from sophomore Jennifer Bell (Pelham, N.Y.) and senior Jocelyn Porter (Cornelius, N.C.). Bell’s season-best performance of 271.88 placed her third on the 1m board, while Porter captured a season-best score of 301.95 to round out the top three on the 3m board.
Senior Tristan Gess (Lakewood, Colo.) scored 289.50 on the 1m board for a career-best performance. In addition to finishing third in the event, his score ranks ninth all-time in UVA history.
Quote from Todd DeSorbo
“Our divers had a nice night on the boards to kick off the weekend competition with VT,” head swimming and diving coach Todd DeSorbo said. “It’s been an interesting week for them without their primary coach Drew Livingston, but they have been supporting each other and showed up well tonight despite the challenges. Drew did a great job coaching virtually this week and the student-athletes continue to thrive! Looking forward to seeing their continued progress through the season as they’ll be a big part of our success as we approach championship season.”
Quote from Drew Livingston
“I feel like it’s cliche at this point, but this year has been really difficult,” head diving coach Drew Livingston said. “It became even more difficult for our divers this week in my absence. They deserve a ton of credit for keeping a positive attitude and putting themselves in the best position to succeed. I think the best compliment you can give a group of athletes is they work hard and they care about the people around them, and that was more evident this week than ever.
“From a performance standpoint, Charlotte Bowen deserves a shoutout for smashing her personal bests on both springboards. She’s done a great job this year of coming into training on a mission to improve, and results are starting to go her way. Jocelyn Porter was really solid on both boards. Tristan Gess is quietly putting together his best season and there’s plenty of room to grow. I’m really excited for the growth of our divers so far. We’re looking forward to another week of training before we test ourselves against two very talented teams on the road next week.”
Next
The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming teams will conclude the meet against the Hokies tomorrow with events beginning at 11 a.m.