Hattie Wins Platform, Stone Posts Top-10 Score in UT History on Final Day of UGA Diving Invite

Hattie Wins Platform, Stone Posts Top-10 Score in UT History on Final Day of UGA Diving Invite

January 05, 2023 | Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving, Men's Swimming & Diving

ATHENS, Ga. – Tennessee diving capped off a strong showing at the Georgia Diving Invitational with a win on the men's platform and a top-10 score in program history.

Completing the sweep of the men's events for the week, Bryden Hattie remained undefeated on platform this season when he posted the top score in the finals at 414.80. In a battle for first, he entered the final round with a lead of less than two points and needed a big score on his last dive to get the win. The junior from Victoria, British Columbia nailed his Back 2 1/2 Somersault 1 1/2 Twist Pike for 78.40 points to come out victorious. He recorded a 437.10 effort during prelims.

"I'm really pleased with Bryden's performance," diving coach Dave Parrington said. "He was an absolute model of consistency over the three days in the prelims/finals format for all three events. That's the first time we've competed in that format since NCAAs. He won prelims and finals for every event, so that showed his consistency. While he was consistent, he still wasn't super sharp, so there is room to improve. Today's tower was a close contest, and it was good to see him go up and perform well on his last dive. I feel good about where he's at right now."

Nick Stone posted a strong performance on the tower, throwing down a new personal-best effort at 356.70 to finish third overall. The score moved him into 10th all time in the Tennessee record books. Jacob Reasor placed fifth behind a 326.35 mark, while Owen Redfearn took 14th (256.25).

"Nick had a wonderful performance today," Parrington said. "He's still just learning tower. He did a nice job in prelims to qualify for the finals as well. He got up and flat out competed. I'm really happy with his performance and the way he's competing. Jacob was also a model of consistency all week long. He could have been a little sharper in today's final, but he advanced to the finals in all three events, which is pretty grueling. I'm really happy with the way he's coming. He's becoming a much more mature diver and competitor across the boards. Owen was close to making the finals on all three boards, so he's making good strides."

The Lady Vols wrapped up the competition with the 1-meter. Three divers advanced to the finals, with Grace Cable's 270.35 leading the way in ninth. Elle Renner took 10th behind a 268.40 mark, while Tanesha Lucoe finished in 12th (258.25).

During prelims, Madison Reese recorded a score of 236.65 to finish 19th, while Bailey Davenport (234.75) took 20th. Emily Ann Wolfson posted a 224.10 mark to come in 25th, and Kara Holt rounded things out in 30th thanks to a 216.90 score.

"There was a deeper field on the women's side of things, and it sort of replicates what we would see at zones and NCAAs," Parrington said. "Through the last three invites, we've competed well and had great preparation for the postseason. I've seen steady improvement in many areas. We have things to fine tune, but we are improving. There are more areas that we have improved, and there are a lot of positives right now. Grace had a personal best on tower yesterday, and Elle earned her zone scores on 3-meter and tower, which takes a huge burden off her shoulders. She really turned the corner the last few days. Tanesha did some really good stuff. Maddie was diving with a sore back, so she didn't compete on tower yesterday. I was happy with the progress that she and the others are making."

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