Two Divers From Florida Take the Spotlight

A pair of divers from Boca Raton, Fla., took some of the thunder away from the favorites Wednesday as the U.S. Indoor Diving Championships got under way at the campus of Indiana Purdue University at Indianapolis.

Scott Donie outscored a field of veterans, including Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis, to qualify first in the men’s 10-meter platform semifinals. Earlier in the day, Tristan Baker outscored world champion Megan Neyer and Olympic silver medalist Kelly McCormick to qualify first in the women’s 3-meter springboard semifinals.

Donie, 17, representing the Mission Bay Makos, scored 552.45 points, more than 22 points higher than he scored in last year’s competition. Ron Meyer, the 1985 NCAA champion, was second with 548.76 points, while Louganis was third at 548.10.

In the women’s competition, Baker, a runner-up at both U.S. Nationals last year, led throughout the 10-dive program and scored 509.1 points. Neyer had 490.5 points, McCormick 477.84.