COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Natasha Dark and Sara Rogers finished eighth and 17th respectively to lead UNM on day one of the Air Force Diving Invitational, the final competition for the Lobo divers before the conference championships.
Day one of the three-day event was the 1-meter dive for the women and the 3-meter dive for men’s teams. Teams in the competition included divers from Colorado State, Wyoming, BYU, Utah, Denver, California Baptist and host Air Force. No team scores were kept.
Natasha Dark bounced back from an off-week to return to her team-leading form. She scored 263.35 on her six dives, good for an eighth-place finish. The lone senior on the diving squad, Dark showed off the form that won her both disciplines against NMSU. Her inward 1 ½ somersault pike and her forward 2 ½ somersault pike both were top three dives in her rounds. Overall, four of her six dives ranked in the top 10 out of the 36 divers.
Dark advanced into the quarterfinals of the event but missed a semifinals berth by 18.2 points.
UNM’s No. 2 diver was Rogers, who was coming off a career night at Nevada on January 31. Rogers finished 17th, scoring much like Dark, she had two dives that ranked third in the round. Rogers was third in both the inward 1 ½ somersault pike and the forward 2 ½ somersault pike.
UNM then had three divers finish together in 23rd, 24th, and 25th place, as Daphne Scheck scored 225.95, Jocelyn Gallais scored 221.85 and Hannah Tiendas scored 218.95. Scheck’s inward double somersault tuck was her highest scoring dive, scoring 47.60 and finishing fifth in the round. Gallais’ Inward 1 ½ somersault pike was the second-best in the round. Tiendas’ best dive was her backwards 1 ½ somersault pike, which was good for 12th in her round.
Action continues Friday at 10 a.m. as the squad takes part in the 3-meter dive.
Dark, Rogers Lead Way at Day 1 of AF Diving Invite
