Synchronized diving champions were crowned Thursday at the 2022 USA Diving U.S. Open Championships presented by Rocket Fizz at COM Aquatics in Midland, Texas.
Anne Fowler (Johansen Diving Academy)/Carolina Sculti (Unattached) won the women’s synchronized 3-meter, Aidan Wang (Ripfest)/Sam Oelerich (Ripfest) claimed the men’s synchronized platform title, Madison Huitt (Unattached)/Nike Agunbiade (Unattached) took women’s synchronized platform, and Jacob Welsh/Zachary Welsh (Mission Viejo) won men’s synchronized 3-meter.
Fowler and Sculti’s finished first with a scored 248.76, with their highest scoring dive of the competition coming in the fourth round on their back 2 ½ somersault pike, which scored 60.30 points. Bailee Sturgill (Ripfest)/Lily Witte (Wolverine Diving) placed second, just.48 points behind Fowler and Sculti with a score of 248.28. The bronze medal went to Taylor Fox (Mission Viejo)/Avery Giese (Mission Viejo) who finished with a total score of 225.96.
The men’s synchronized platform featured Wang and Oelerich against Olympian Brandon Loschiavo (Unattached) and Jordan Rzepka (Purdue Diving). Wang/Oelerich won the title by less than two points with a total score of 311.13 to Loschiavo and Rzepka’s 309.27. Wang and Oelerich’s highest scoring dive, a back 2 ½ somersault with 1 ½ twists pike, came in the final round and pushed them into first place. The U.S. Open was the first synchronized event for the pairing of Loschiavo/Rzepka. Loschiavo's last competition was the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he finished 11th in the individual platform event.
The Welsh brothers won in dominant fashion, finishing with a score of 332.46 to finish more than 23 points ahead of second place. In round three, Welsh and Welsh scored 65.70 points on their Inward 2 ½ somersault pike for their highest scoring dive. Dylan Reed (Pitt Aquatic Club)/Cameron Cash (Pitt Aquatic Club) placed second with a score of 308.64, and Nicholas Harris (TNT Diving)/Conor Gesing (TNT Diving) won the bronze medal with a score of 307.32.
Huitt/Agunbiade were the only competitors in the women’s 10-meter synchronized final and finished with 233.82 points.
Friday’s competition features the men’s 1-meter and women’s 3-meter final.