Blue Devils Win Three Medals for USA Diving

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – In the week following final exams, two current Duke divers and one future Blue Devil headed to the Sunshine State for the 2010 AT&T USA Diving Grand Prix in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Sophomore Abby Johnston, freshman Nick McCrory, and incoming freshman Haley Ishimatsu joined divers from nearly 20 other countries for the one U.S. stop of the FINA Grand Prix circuit.

McCrory and his partner, David Boudia of Purdue, provided one of the highlights for the U.S. men this weekend, winning the gold medal in the men's synchronized platform. In their first international meet together, the pair of U.S. collegians edged the Chinese team by 0.4 points for the first place finish.

The Duke freshman also competed as an individual in the men's platform. McCrory qualified for the semifinal round and went on to register the top score in his flight with 492.90 points. In the finals the Chapel Hill native posted 478.90 points. The final round was tightly-bunched as McCrory took fifth place, just 12.90 points out of third place and 39.05 off of the lead.

For Johnston, her top finish of the weekend came in the women's synchronized three-meter springboard competition. The Duke sophomore and her partner, Kelci Bryant, scored 303.60 points to take third place and the bronze medal.

Johnston, like McCrory, had a chance to compete individually at the Grand Prix. Faced with tough international competition, Johnston took to the three-meter springboard and placed a very respectable 12th place.

Ishimatsu and her partner Mary-Beth Dunnichay took second place in the women's synchronized platform, earning the silver medal with a score of 311.64 points. The pair fell just 39.24 points shy of the mark posted by the winning Chinese team of Shengping Wu and Jiaming Zhu.

As an individual, in the women's platform competition, Ishimatsu registered the highest preliminary round score of 340.30 points. The incoming Duke freshman was unable to advance from her semifinal flight.

On the weekend, the Blue Devils helped account for one gold (McCrory) one silver (Ishimatsu) and one bronze medal (Johnston).