SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah diving team is headed to Miami for a pair of contests inside the Doral Aquatic Center on Tuesday, Dec. 16. The Utah men will compete against Florida Atlantic, while the women of Utah will dive against Florida International and Marshall.
Opponents: Men – FAU | Women – FIU, Marshall
Location: Doral Aquatic Center | Miami, Fla.
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 16
Meet Information: DiveMeets
Hosted by FIU, the meet is slated to begin at 10 a.m. MT. This will be the Utes last split meet of the calendar year as the divers will join up with the swim team on Monday, Dec. 22, when Utah takes on Hawaii inside Ute Natatorium.
Among the Best
The Utes were represented in the women's, men's and combined team rankings when the US Professional Diving Coaches Association (US PDCA) revealed its first set of in-season rankings last month. The women's team checked in at No. 13 nationally, the combined squad was ranked No. 20 and the men's side received votes.
Utah is one of 28 schools nationally to at least receive votes in all three polls and the only school in the Big 12 Conference to do so. Utah boasts the second-highest-ranked Big 12 school on the women's side, one spot behind No. 13 Kansas, and the third-highest-ranked men's squad behind No. 11. Arizona and No. 22 TCU. As a combined program, Utah is second in the conference behind only No. 19 Arizona.
The next set of rankings will be released on Dec. 22.
Big Scores Earn Big 12 Awards
So far this season, a trio of Utah divers have earned weekly awards from the Big 12 Conference.
Elias Petersen and
Attila Bernatsky have earned Men's Diver of the Week honors and
Kathryn Grant has been named the conference's Women's Diver of the Week.
Petersen was the latest Utah Ute to be honored by the conference after logging three podium finishes last time out at the Big Al Invitational. The senior won on the 1-meter springboard, his second win on the event so far this season, and placed second on 3-meter and third on platform. Grant earned weekly recognition after she was the only woman to finish in the top five of all three events at the Texas Diving Invitational. The senior took fourth on 1-meter and fifth on both 3-meter and platform. Bernatsky was named the Big 12 Men's Diver of the Week following Utah's season-opener against Wyoming when the sophomore won on 3-meter and took second on 1-meter.
Since joining the Big 12 prior to last season, Utah has claimed 13 weekly awards, 10 of which have come from divers. Petersen leads all Utes with four Diver of the Week nods, while Grant and Bernatsky have each been recognized once in their careers.
Records Fall In New Jerey
Nine Utes earned podium finishes across three days of competition at the Big Al Invitational last time out. The highlight of the weekend was
Kathryn Grant's 308.80 to win the women's platform competition, which broke the pool record. Grant had set the pool record at the same event back in 2022, but reclaimed the record after it was broken last year. Her score was the second-best mark in program history and just the third Utah tally over 300 on the event. The senior also claimed the 1-meter title after a setting a personal best in prelims.
Callie Eaglestone logged three top-five finishes on the weekend, placing second on the 1-meter board, third on the 3-meter and fourth on platform. Her 300.15 mark in the 1-meter prelims was the first time she had broken 300 on the board and set the 10th-best score in Utah history.
Elias Petersen led the men's side with a win on the 1-meter, a second-place finish on the 3-meter and a third-place finish on platform.
Seniors Shine is Lone Star State
Seniors
Kathryn Grant and
Elias Petersen powered the Utes at the Texas Diving Invitational, leading Utah in a meet that included six teams ranked in the top 20 nationally.
Grant placed fourth on the 1-meter and fifth on both the 3-meter and platform, the only woman in Austin to finish in the top five on all three events. She tied for first individually with 43 points on the weekend, scoring a 288.15 on the 1-meter, 298.25 on the 3-meter and 249.30 in her first platform competition of the season.
Petersen also led the men's side with three finals appearances. He placed eighth on both the 1- and 3-meter springboards and finished 15th on platform.
Halloween W
The Utes dominated in their home opener on Halloween, with the men's team defeating Colorado Mesa 228-72 and the women's side winning by a 192-108 scoreline. The Utes came out on top in 26 of 32 total events, including eight podium sweeps.
Utah won on both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard on the men's and women's sides.
Elias Petersen made his season debut and took both golds on the men's side, while
Callie Eaglestone and
Kathryn Grant each logged a win in their first competition of the season.
First Meet, No Jitters
Attila Bernatsky shined in his season debut against Wyoming, winning the men's 3m with a list total of 281.25 and placing second in the 1m.
Alex Just placed second in the 3m in his Utah debut as well.
Annalise Shrader and
Cierra Cole also showed promise in their collegiate debuts. Cole finished second in the women's 3m and third in the 1m, while Shrader logged a second-place result in the 1m and placed fourth in the 3m.
Coaches Corner
Head diving coach
Richard Marschner brought on
Logan Andrews to help coach the Ute divers. Andrews spent the last two years as the head diving coach at New Mexico after spending the prior season at Ouachita Baptist. He spent his college career at Auburn, where he qualified for NCAA Zones all four years and was a two-time finalist at the SEC Championships. He was teammates with current Utah swimming assistant coach
Aly Tetzloff while in Alabama.
Stay Connected
Fans can follow along on social media (X:
@UTAHswimdive | Instagram:
@utahswimdive | Facebook:
FB.com/UtahUtesSwimDive), and the official mobile app of Utah Athletics, Utah360 -- download
here.