Cougar diving completes Cal Invitational

BYU men’s and women’s diving concluded competition at the Cal Diving Invitational on Saturday.

BYU diver Sophia DeBergh competes in a dual meet versus Arizona in December 2024.BYU diver Sophia DeBergh competes in a dual meet versus Arizona in December 2024.
Patrick Mulligan/Studio Create

BERKELEY, Calif. — BYU men’s and women’s diving concluded competition at the Cal Diving Invitational on Saturday.

The three-day event at Legends Aquatic Center pitted Cougar divers against competition from host Cal, rival Utah, Big Ten programs UCLA and USC, the ACC’s Stanford along with Denver, Hawaii and Fresno State.

BYU and Denver’s diving scores were compiled and contributed to the dual swim meet scoring between the two programs in Provo today.

Alexia Jackson Hansen and Brooklyn Larson Clouse went one-two on 1-meter and were the only divers on either BYU or Denver to surpass 250 points. Jackson Hansen and Sophia DeBergh controlled the top two spots in the 3-meter event to further bolster BYU’s team score. Jackson Hansen scored nearly 50 more points than the Pioneers’ high scorer with a final of 270.95.

In the overall meet competition, Jackson Hansen finished fifth on 1m and seventh on 3m.

A pair of freshmen led the BYU men scoring versus Denver with Martí Llop finishing second on 1-meter at 291.45 and Ezra Purcell taking runner-up on 3-meter at 290.95. Llop and Purcell were the Cougars’ top two finishers on both springboard dives in overall meet competition as well.

On platform, Llop and Chase Hindmarsh recorded BYU’s best finishes at sixth and seventh, respectively.

The Cougars’ took second in both team events during Thursday’s action. BYU men’s diving narrowly defeated Denver 303.70-301.30 while the women finished ahead of Cal and Denver with 286.75 points.

Cougar swim and dive next takes to the road for a dual meet at Air Force Jan. 24-25 at Cadet Natatorium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.