Emily Grund's top-10 finish leads the way for UNC at Winter Diving Nationals

The North Carolina swim and dive team competed in the 2019 USA Diving National Winter Championships from Tuesday, Dec. 17, through Sunday, Dec. 22. Sophomore Emily Grund led the way for the Tar Heels when she placed ninth in the women's 1-meter springboard final.

What happened?

North Carolina did not compete until senior Bryan Allen placed 19th in his opening round of the men's platform dive with a score of 261.85 on Friday. Allen later qualified for the semifinal round of the men's platform and finished with a cumulative score of 588.7 to place 17th, but he did not qualify for the final round.

Grund was the only other Tar Heel to compete at the Winter Nationals. In Sunday's women's 1-meter springboard prelimary/quarterfinal round, Grund scored 225.6 to finish ninth. Grund advanced to the final round of the 1-meter springboard where she also placed ninth with a total score of 453.9.

Who stood out?

Both Tar Heels that competed at the Winter Diving Nationals were able to advance further into their respective events.

For Grund, her ninth place finish in her first round put her into the finals later in the day.

Allen advanced to the semifinals in the men's platform but was unable to advance further into the final, which was held on Sunday.

When was it decided?

Allen placed 19th out of 26 in the preliminary/quarterfinal round to advance to the semifinal round. With only 19 divers in the semifinal round, Allen scored 588.70 for a 17th-place finish. 

Out of the 20 divers in the women's 1-meter springboard, Grund finished ninth to separate herself from the bottom half of the divers. There was also a narrow margin from fifth to ninth place as Grund missed fifth place by just 4.1 points.

Why does it matter?

Head Coach Yaidel Gamboa said both divers kept their composure during the meet and focused on their performances. Gamboa said that with meets like this, it was important for his divers to remember to not let the competition or outside factors affect them.

Gamboa said it was important for Allen and Grund to quickly overcome any adversity that they might face during the meet and not let it affect either of their next dives.

With the next meet not until the new year, Gamboa added that the most important thing for the dive team to practice will be getting into the rhythm of competition again, both physically and mentally.

Gamboa said this experience will help Allen and Grund moving forward into the spring season, and he is excited for the future of the team as a whole.

When do they play next?

The swim and dive team will take a couple of weeks off before resuming competition in the new year. The squad's first meet of 2020 will be on Saturday, Jan. 11, against Navy in Chapel Hill.

@A_ReynoldsDTH

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