Hokie ClubSEATTLE, Wash. – Junior Logan Shinholser of the Virginia Tech diving squad lead the H2Okies on the second day of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships. He placed fifth, which marks the best finish so far for Tech, in the 3-meter event to be named an All-American Friday night at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with Logan’s springboard performances,” commented head diving coach Ron Piemonte. “Last year he did not score in the top-16 on either springboard. So for him to get seventh on the 1-meter and fifth in the 3-meter are major accomplishments. I am really looking forward to the platform. With what he was accomplished, Logan has taken this program to another level.”
Shinholser, the only point scorer for Tech during the past two days, added 14 more points to the H2Okie total as he brought in a score of 395.40 to finish fifth. Although Ryan Hawkins did not make the top-16, the sophomore came in with a solid 22nd finish as he tallied a score of 342.45.
“I really feel that Ryan Hawkins is ready to put it all on the line tomorrow as well in the platform after a couple very close springboard events,” added Piemonte.
Zach McGinnis and Gregory Mahon both swam for Tech today. McGinnis just missed the top-16 in the 100 backstroke as he came in with a time of 47.09, which was just .01 seconds behind 16th place, while Gregory Mahon placed 18th overall in the 100 butterfly coming in with a time of 46.96.
As a team, the H2Okies sit 19th with 26 points going into the final day, while Cal Berkeley leads the way with 379.5. Texas follows in second place with 343.5 and Arizona sits third with 283. Stanford (277) and Michigan (199) round out the top five, respectively.
“The H2Okie men are competing well here in Seattle,” commented head coach Ned Skinner. “Logan Shinholser is doing an outstanding job and we are excited to go after it on the last day.”
Tech will complete the 2011-12 season tomorrow on the final day of the Championships as all four H2Okies will compete. Mahon and McGinnis will look to score in the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke, respectively, while Shinholser and Hawkins will climb up the platform event to finish the year. The first event of the preliminaries, the 200 backstroke, will begin at 2 p.m. eastern time, followed by the finals at 10 p.m.
Click the link for the full Championship schedule: http://www.ncaa.com/championships/swimming-men/d1