CALGARY, Canada – The Canada Cup resumed Friday with Team USA competing in both the men’s 3-meter and women’s platform preliminaries and semifinals. Lyle Yost (Shaker Heights, Ohio) finished 12th overall in the men’s 3-meter, while Abigail Knapton (Omaha, Neb./Lincoln, Neb.) tied with Singapore’s Freida Lim for ninth overall and Daria Lenz (Altadena, Calif./Stanford, Calif.) finished 11th overall.
The Canada Cup runs according to FINA’s tournament format with the top-12 divers from the preliminary session advancing to two semifinal groups with six divers in each, and the top three divers from each group advancing to the finals. Semifinal groups were comprised by divers ranked by either 12-10-8-6-4-2 or 11-9-7-5-3-1 following the men’s preliminaries. No nation can have more than two athletes qualify for the semifinals.
Yost scored 360.00 points to finish sixth in his Semifinal B group and 12th overall in the men’s 3-meter event, falling just 8.80 points behind Alexis Jandard of France. Despite beginning competition strong with a front 3 ½ pike for 65.10, the Ohio native was unable to climb up the rankings to advance to the finals. Daniel Goodfellow of Great Britain led the Semifinal B group with 468.25 points, while Philippe Gagnèfinished second with 431.45 points. Great Britain’s James Heatly placed third with 416.70 points.
Greg Duncan (Oakton, Va./West Lafayette, Ind.) wrapped up the men’s preliminary at 22nd with 339.30 points, while Jacob Siler (Knoxville, Tenn./Columbus, Ohio) scored 324.45 points to place 25th in his first Grand Prix event. Jacob Fielding (Los Angeles, Calif./Columbus, Ohio) finished 29th with 310.45 points.
In her first Grand Prix, Knapton scored 257.35 points, despite missing her first three dives, to finish sixth in her Semifinal B group and tied for ninth overall. Knapton’s best dive came in the fourth round, when a back armstand with 3 tucks scored for 69.30 points. Canada’s Caeli McKay led the Semifinal B group with 302.55 points, while China’s Xu Yijin placed second with 294.35 points. Alejandra Estrella of Mexico clinched the final spot to advance to the finals with 291.5 points.
Lenz competed in the Semifinal A group, led by Canada’s Celina Toth with 312.10 points, scoring 243.60 points to place fifth in her group and 11th overall. Although the California native started competition with her best dive, a front 3 ½ pike for 57.00, Lenz missed dives in rounds two through four, causing her to slip from fourth place to sixth place. She inched up in the final round to wrap up competition at fifth place. Melissa Wu of Australia placed second in the group with 307.50 points, while Germany’s Maria Kurjo finished at third with 300.05 points.
Ali Watson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) completed the women’s platform preliminary at 20th place with 218.45 points.
The Canada Cup continues Saturday at 1:30 pm with Knapton and Ben Bramley (Wellesley, Mass./West Lafayette, Ind.) contending in the mixed platform synchro, while Emma Ivory-Ganja (The Woodlands, Texas/Austin, Texas) will compete in the women’s 3-meter final at 4:59 pm ET.
