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the end of the first day of the 2011 Southeastern Conference Diving
Championships, Monica Dodson got the glory she’s worked so hard for
since she first stepped on campus.
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After four years of perseverance, the senior accepted the gold
medal for the women’s 3-meter dive from Coach Donnie Craine and led
the crowd in the gator chomp to celebrate her school and SEC-record
breaking score of 373.85.
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“Knowing that I’ve accomplished one of my goals for the weekend is
a huge relief,” Dodson said.
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The three-time All-American beat out divers from Auburn, Kentucky,
South Carolina, Alabama and LSU in the finals to take the title,
including Auburn’s Vennie Dantin who had previously held the SEC
record.
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Two of Dodson’s UF teammates also placed in the meet. Junior Kaylee
Doback took seventh in the finals, while freshman Danielle Risley
took 10th in the preliminary round.
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“I’m proud of the girls,” Craine said. “They all did well
today.”
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However, Craine couldn’t say the same of the men, who competed in
the one-meter event Friday.
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“We just did not dive well today on the men’s side,” he said.
“We’ve been doing well going into today. I don’t know what
happened.”
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Junior Anthony Lewark took 13th in the prelims with a score of
292.9, and senior John Speed came in 14th with a 286.1. Freshman
Mike Lewark and redshirt freshman Christopher Jones took 19th and
23rd with scores of 277.5 and 249.0.
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Tomorrow the men’s team will participate in the three-meter event
and the women will dive the one-meter. Craine said he has high
hopes for Dodson.
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“Our goal is to get in the finals and we’ll see where we can go
from there,” he said.
