Nov. 11, 2016
LOS ANGELES - Junior Alexandra Caplan began SDSU's run at the USC Diving Invitational by capturing third place on the 3-meter board at the Trojans' Uytengsu Aquatics Center in Los Angeles Friday afternoon. A total of 35 divers from nine schools are competing at the Invitational, which will run through Sunday.
Caplan's total score of 593.75 placed her behind two divers from USC: Madison Witt (609.40) and Naomi Gowlett (608.55). She had finished fifth in the prelims with a mark of 284.10 before adding a score of 309.65 for her six dives in the finals.
Two other Aztec athletes advance to the finals of the 3-meter event: junior Makena Chamoures and freshman Marie Yacopino.
Chamoures was 16th after the opening six dives with a score of 229.20 and moved up to finish 11th at the end of the finals with a mark of 499.0. She turned in a 269.40 for the six dives in the final round.
Yacopino, a first-year Aztec making her collegiate debut, advanced to the finals after finishing 17th in the prelims with a score of 224.25. She improved on that mark with a score of 269.40 in the finals to end the afternoon in 14th place with a total mark of 472.15.
Two other San Diego State divers were also in the field on Friday, but neither advanced to the final round. That twosome included Payton Gabris (22nd -- 207.35) and Nicole Dutton (28th -- 189.25).
Action continues at the USC Diving Invitational on Saturday, Nov. 12, with prelims on the 1-meter springboard scheduled to get underway 11:00 a.m. (PT) and the finals slated to start at 1:45 p.m.