Gamecocks poised to face competition in Gainesville
South Carolina’s diving team will be spending the weekend in Gainesville, Fla., where they will compete in the SEC Diving Championships.
Junior Courtney Forcucci enters the meet as one of the Gamecocks’ top divers just a year removed from breaking her leg.
“Virtually, she was out until the summer, and now she has started diving again,” diving coach Todd Sherritt said. “It just looks great. The break in the tibia is pretty serious. It’s right below the kneecap, but she didn’t tear any muscles or anything, so it was a clean break.”
In addition to Forcucci, Sherritt believes senior Taryn Zack will be one of Carolina’s top performers on the weekend.
“Taryn and Courtney are both great divers,” Sherritt said. “Taryn has won the conference championship before. She’s currently on the Canadian national team. They’re two different style divers. She’s a real contender.”
Getting warmed up: Last weekend, the Gamecocks traveled to Iowa for the U.S.A. Diving Winter Nationals, during which divers attempted to qualify for the Olympic trials.
Forcucci finished 12th in the 3-meter, qualifying for the 2012 Olympic trials.
“I think it’s a great thing to come off of Winter Nationals and right into the conference championships,” Sherritt said. “It just depends on the diver. For where Courtney is, it’ll be a good thing to go back-to-back meets.”
The competition begins today with the 1-meter dive, followed by the 3-meter on Saturday and the platform event Sunday.
Sophomore Rylan Ridenour will be leading the men’s side.
“He did really well last week,” Sherritt said. “He’s one of the best athletes. Real acrobatic in the air. And powerful — raw power.”
Championship atmosphere: Sherritt said the format is slightly different for this year’s tournament, as the swimming teams will be competing later in the week.
“Unfortunately, this year we don’t have swimming along with us, and that’s a little bit of a downer,” Sherritt said. “When the entire team is there, there’s a lot more cheering, and being separated isn’t that great.”
Despite the absence of the swimmers, Sherritt believes the atmosphere will still be different than a regular meet.
“There’s an intensity about it. Winning here is not easy,” Sherritt said. “Everyone has good athletes, but at the end of the day we’ll come out with a few wins.”