March 25, 2016
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ATLANTA ââ'¬" Freshman Hector Garcia Boissier (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain) narrowly missed the consolation finals in the 3-meter dive as he and Jack Crow competed (Bethesday, Md.) Friday in the 2016 NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving Championships at McCauley Aquatic Center.
Garcia placed 18th with a three-dive score of 365.40, just two places and 2.20 points shy of reaching the B-final.
"[Hector] missed his one dive, he felt a little off from what was actually happening, and it caused him to miss the dive," said Penn State diving coach Dennis Ceppa. "He came back super strong after that with some great follow up dives. We switched his last dive from one of his newer more difficult dives to one he's been doing for a while in hopes we'd be able to make up that difference, and he tried his hardest and really put down a great effort."
Crow posted a score of 303.50 to conclude his championships. Garcia will compete in the platform dive starting at 12:15 p.m. Saturday on the final day of competition.
Wednesday Garcia became the first Nittany Lion to earn honorable mention All-America honors since Adam Pierce in 2006. He posted a six-dive score of 344.35 in the preliminaries to reach the B-final, and then totaled 335.65 points in the B-final. Logan Knauss (Audubon, Pa.) and Jack Crow (Bethesda, Md.) also competed and placed 37th (290.40) and 38th (283.80), respectively.
"All three guys did a great job," said Ceppa. "Obviously, Hector was the standout there as we expected him to finish in a scoring position, and he didn't disappoint. He was up against some extremely tough competition at this meet.
"These guys are doing dives that are so difficult. While Hector has learned some of the more difficult dives this season, he hasn't been doing them quite as long and there are also a few more he still needs to learn. With his list he did an amazing job."
The trio are the first Penn State divers to reach the NCAA Men's Championships since Mike Alderman in 2007, and it marks the first time since 1998 that as many as three will be representing the Blue and White.
Fans can watch the prelim action for Saturday at www.atlantaswimming.com/Webcast. Saturday's finals will be streamed live on ESPN3.. Additionally, ESPNU will air a 90-minute show at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 6.