Coming off an Olympic bronze medal in the London Games, Duke diver Nick McCrory became the ACC’s most decorated diver on Saturday night.

McCrory won the ACC title in the men’s 1-meter springboard on Thursday for the third time in his career.

On Friday, he won the 3-meter springboard for the second time in his career. That win gave him six ACC titles, which is most in the ACC’s male diving history. He was once again tested by Virginia Tech’s Logan Shinholser. McCrory set his own conference and school record with a total score of 498.60.

On Saturday, McCrory went into the finals of the 10M platform dive in first place, with the Hokies Shinholser right behind him once again. He blew away the field (515.20 to 464.35 for Shinholser) and became the most decorated diver in the ACC’s history with his seventh title. He passed NC State’s Allyson Reid all-time.

McCrory is the first ever male to sweep the diving events.

It did not take long for Duke diver Nick McCrory to get back into a groove.

In his first meet since re-joining Duke after winning a bronze medal in the London Olympics, McCrory earned ACC Male Diver of the Week honors.

At last weekend’s Tennessee Invitational, McCrory competed in both the 1-meter and 3-meter spring board diving events and placed in the top three in both.

In the 1-meter finals, he finished with a 319.75 total, which placed him second. In the 3-meter finals, he finished with a total of 370.70, which placed him third. His points total surpassed the NCAA Zone Diving Championships standard for the three meter height.

The Blue Devils are back in action tomorrow (Saturday, January 12th) when they host South Carolina.

Via GoDuke.com

It has been a whirlwind few weeks since Duke divers Nick McCrory and Abby Johnston have returned home from the 2012 London Olympics with medals. The two have done talk shows, radio shows, and now thrown out first pitches at baseball games.

McCrory and Johnston threw out ceremonial first pitches at the Triple-A Durham Bulls game on Thursday night. Fittingly, it was done in unison. Catching their first pitches were big leaguers Will Rhymes and Chris Archer.

Johnston tweeted that her throw “didn’t quite make it to home plate.”

After throwing out the first pitches, they hung around to meet fans (there were around 9,000 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park), sign autographs, show off their medals, and talk on air with the Bulls radio crew.

The two received pointers from Duke assistant baseball coach Joe Jordan on how to actually throw a baseball.

Duke diver Nick McCrory finished 9th in Saturday’s men’s 10 meter platform final in a tough field that rebounded from a lackluster prelim.

He finished with a total score of 505.40. With his opening dive, he recorded three 9s on an inward 3 ½ somersault in the tuck position (86.40 points). That score started him out in sixth place.

His best dive of the night came last (but a little too late). He scored 97.20 points (his highest of the Olympics) on a back 2 ½ somersault with 2 ½ twists.

McCrory will be returning to classes at Duke this fall with a medal though, the bronze he and David Boudia won in the 10M synchronized event.

Speaking of Boudia, he won the gold medal in the 10M platform final with an almost flawless final run of six dives. That came off a horrendous showing in the preliminaries on Friday where he just squeaked in in the 18th and last spot. In an interview after the prelims with McCrory, he said he couldn’t go anywhere but up.

And up he did. He became the first American to win gold in the men’s 10M platform event since Greg Louganis in 1988 (Louganis was in attendance). He finished with a score of 568.65, just 1.80 points ahead of China’s Qui Bo (the closest final since 1988).

Boudia had to dive immediately following hometown darling Tom Daley, who led throughout the finals (Daley finished with the bronze). Boudia admitted he had no idea where he was at in the standings and was glad he didn’t (he would have been nervous).

It came down to the final dive, with Boudia and Bo completing the same tougher dive than Daley (a back 2.5 somersault with 2.5 twists). Boudia scored a 102.60, while Bo scored 100.80.

For more on Boudia’s story of being scared of heights, click HERE.

*With so many of the Olympic athletes showing extreme disappointment in not finishing first (ie the women gymnasts and track and field athletes), Daley was thrilled to pick up a bronze. He, his teammates, and coaches all jumped into the pool following the finals. Check out his Twitter timeline.

Duke‘s Nick McCrory put together a very consistent six rounds of dives in the men’s 10-meter platform preliminaries on Friday. The eighth-place finish (480.90 points) pushed him into the Saturday semifinals (the top 18 advanced).

McCrory got better and better, as his last three dives were his best. His last dive, a back 2 ½ somersault with 2 ½ twists for a 3.6 degree of difficulty, scored the best (86.40 points).

The shocking part of the preliminaries was medal favorite David Boudia, McCrory‘s synchro partner. He just squeaked into the semifinals, as he came in 18th. His final two dives were poor.

Qui Bo, the 19-year old from China, led the preliminary round. Hometown favorite Tom Daley also squeaked in by finishing 15th with a solid final dive. Reigning champion Matt Mitcham of Australia also was not at his best but advanced (he finished ninth).

The semifinals will be broadcast live at 5am ET at NBCOlympics.com. The finals (the top 12) will be held later Saturday at 3:30pm ET. Both will re-air on NBC during primetime.

*In attendance at the prelims was Duke teammate Abby Johnston, who earned a silver medal in the women’s 3M synchronized diving earlier in the London Olympics.

After going 0-for-12 in synchronized diving, the USA has gone 2-for-2 in the 2012 London Olympics. Duke has also gone 2-for-2 in diving. One day after Abby Johnston and her partner Kelci Bryant won the silver, Nick McCrory and his partner David Boudia won the bronze in the men’s 10m synchronized diving final on Monday.

McCrory and Boudia finished with 463.47 points. Their final dive was their best, a back 2 1/2 somersault 2 1/2 pike, which netted them 95.04 points.

This is my favorite quote from their day:

“It’s not real yet,” Boudia said. “We were about ready to walk out and we were like, ‘Oh, we just got third, we’re bronze medalists.’ I think it will sink in once you see your family, you celebrate, you’re on the ‘Today’ show.”

China won yet another gold in diving, as Cao Yuan and Zhang Yanquan finished with 486.78 points. They earned four perfect 10s in synchronization despite not having the highest degree of difficulty compared to the other countries.

The Mexican duo of German Sanchez and Ivan Garcia won the silver medal with 468.90 points. They had the highest degree of difficulty.

*So you want to watch McCrory and Boudia win bronze? NBC promises to show it on TV tonight sometime between 8pm and midnight (eastern).

How strong is the Duke presence? So strong that one of the headlines on FoxSports’ site has a title that says exactly that. And it is not an article about Coach K.

It is about the US Olympic divers. Duke has two members on the diving team (along with the coach), and both have a legitimate chance to win medals. Check out the article on Nick McCrory (who will compete in two events) and Abby Johnston.

Johnston gets going on Sunday (July 29th) in the 3m synchronized finals. The  finals begin at 10am ET (3pm London time) and will be televised later Sunday night on NBC (7pm-midnight).

McCrory gets started on Monday (July 30th) with the 10m synchronized finals at 10am ET (3pm London time). It will be televised on NBC sometime between 8pm and midnight.

He will be back in action on August 10th in the 10m platform preliminaries. They begin at 2pm ET (7pm London time) and will be broadcast on NBC (8pm-midnight). If McCrory qualifies, the semifinals will be held on August 11th at 5am ET (10am London time) with the finals at 3pm ET (8pm London time). The 10m platform final will be shown on NBC from 8pm-midnight.

Coach K will be coaching the favored US team in London. The US kicks off their Olympic schedule on Sunday (July 29th) against France at 9:30am ET. However two of his former players will be competing in the Olympics.

Luol Deng is a member of the British team. The hometown team begins their Olympic schedule on Sunday (July 29th) against Russia at 3pm ET. Deng is in Group B, while the US is in Group A.

Marty Pocius is a member of the Lithuanian team. They kick off their Olympic schedule on Sunday (July 29th) against Argentina at 5:15pm ET. Lithuania is in Group A and Pocius will face his former coach on August 4th.

» Continue reading “Strong Duke Presence in London Olympics”

Duke diving coach Drew Johansen was named the US Olympic Diving coach for the London Olympics that begin in less than two weeks.

He has been the US National Team coach for seven years and was the head coach for the 2011 World Championship team in Shanghai.

While at Duke, Johansen has helped Abby Johnston and Nick McCrory become elite divers, as both will be competing for the US in the Olympics.

Johnston will be pairing with Kelci Bryant in the women’s synchronized 3-meter competition on Sunday, July 29th. It will be a straight final with five rounds of dives.

McCrory is expected to medal at the Olympics. He will be competing in both the men’s synchronized 10-meter platform event on Monday, July 30th (which is a straight final like the women’s) and the individual event. His biggest competition in the individual event is his partner in the synchronized event, David Boudia. The individual 10-meter event will begin with a preliminary round on Friday, August 10, and conclude on Saturday, August 11.

Here is what Johansen had to say, as he compared the Duke diving program with the Olympics:

“One of my philosophies as a coach is to follow the philosophy of Olympism, which is in the charter for the International Olympic committee,” Johansen said. “By definition, it’s the blending of sport with culture and education. And that really defines Duke in big way – the blending of sport with culture and education. So one of the reasons I came to Duke was that Duke’s mission and the Olympic mission are very similar.”

Duke will be sending more than just Coach K to the 2012 London Olympics. At least two athletes will be heading to London this July.

Divers Abby Johnston and Nick McCroy won the Olympic trials for synchronized diving.

Johnston and her partner Kelci Bryant won the women’s 3-meter synchronized springboard event by .42 points. Bryant was an Olympian in 2008. The women’s 3-meter synchronized competition at the 2012 Olympic Games will be a straight final with five rounds of dives on Sunday, July 29.

Here is what Johnston had to say following the victory:

“I can’t believe it. I’m in shock. I keep looking at the scoreboard to make sure it’s real. This is a dream come true.”

On the men’s side, McCroy and partner David Boudia won the 10-meter synchronized platform event by a WIDE margin. They picked up three scores of 10s in the final round. The two competed at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The men’s 10-meter synchronized event will be a straight final with six rounds of diving on Monday, July 30 at the London Aquatics Centre.

McCrory also qualified for the 10-meter men’s platform event, as he came in second place to synchronized partner Boudia in the Olympic qualifying event. The men’s individual 10-meter platform competition will be held August 10-11 in London.

*Eight current Duke swimmers begin their quest for a spot in the London Olympics today, as the Olympic Team Trials begin in Omaha and last through July 2nd.