MSU SWIMMING & DIVING: Successful at USA Diving Nationals

East Lansing, Mich. -- Michigan State freshman Amanda Ling (Wixom, Mich.) and junior Julia Oppedisano (Strongsville, Ohio) competed at the 2018 USA Diving Senior National Championships this week in Dallas, Texas, against some of the best divers in the country.

Oppedisano had missed the entire 2017-18 season with injury and was only cleared for competition in April – which meant she had five weeks to prepare for this event. She finished 18th in the semifinals.

“This was a great meet for us,” beamed Eric Best, MSU’s head diving coach. “Julia Oppedisano had been out for her entire junior year, so that made her 18th place finish in the semifinals on the 1m board even more special. This was the first time in her career she has made it past the preliminaries at the Senior Nationals. After a short break, we are looking forward for her to return to training on the 3m board as well as 1m.”

Amanda moved up two places to finish 15th in the semifinals on the 3m board. The top 12 advance to the finals, but she gave it a good run against some of the best divers in the country.

Ling advanced to the semifinals in both the 1m and 3m, finishing 12th in the 1m and 15th in the 3m.

“For Amanda to make the semifinals in both the 1m and 3m in her first Senior Nationals is phenomenal,” continued Best. “She only missed on 2 of her 25 dives that she did this week and didn't miss a single dive in either the quarter or semifinals. Her performance in this meet will be a great motivator. She had the chance to measure herself against some of the best divers in the country and now knows what she needs to do to become one of them.”

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