U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL LOS ANGELES 1991 : DIVING : Scoggin Is Able to Leave His Past Behind

If Matt Scoggin approached his seventh-round dive with trepidation Sunday, it had nothing to do with the fear of flying 30 feet into the water. Scoggin, a four-time national platform champion, has long since overcome those natural apprehensions. But the back 3 1/2-somersault tuck he was about to attempt cost him a chance to win medals in the 1991 World Championships and the 1991 World Cup.

This time, however, Scoggin came up with near-perfection, scoring five 9s, one 8.5 and one 9.5--and then breezed to his third consecutive U.S. Olympic Festival platform gold medal, scoring 627.99 points at the USC Olympic Swim Stadium. Cincinnati’s Pat Evans (595.86) edged Ft. Lauderdale’s Patrick Jeffrey (594.39) for the silver medal.

“That was the dive I was most pleased with,” Scoggin said. “That dive has hurt me in some very important meets this year. I was in good position (at the World Championships) in Perth when I kicked out of it too early, got 4s and dropped out of the medal contention. Then in Winnipeg (during the World Cup), I went way over and dropped out of the medal race again.

“I was very pleased that under pressure, on TV, in front of that crowd, I was able to put it in. And if you can rip that seventh round, you’re in a pretty good position.”

As it turned out, the 27-year-old from Austin, Tex., was in more than a good position after the seventh round. He was uncatchable. Evans and Jeffrey, waging a battle for the silver, both turned in final dives that earned 9s and 9.5s. Scoggin’s last dive received 8s and 8.5s, but he still won easily.

“I missed on my (reverse 3 1/2 somersault tuck in he eighth round) and just couldn’t come back,” Evans said. “Typically, the most consistent diver will win.”

That was certainly the case Sunday. Scoggin received 6.5s on one dive and did not get a score lower than 7.5 on any other dive during the finals. He had at least one 9 on five of his dives.

Scoggin has competed in eight Olympic Festivals and, while he acknowledges that the meet is not especially prestigious, he considers it an important step toward his ultimate goal: Barcelona. Scott Donie, who is competing in the World University Games, is the only top U.S. platform diver not competing here.

Scoggin has won his share of titles, but he has devoted most of his adult life to training for the chance to win a medal in the Olympics.

“This is a good win for me because it’s outdoors and Barcelona will be outdoors,” he said. “I train indoors all year and diving outdoors introduces other factors. There’s wind and the sky is blue and the pool is blue. You have to be able to tell your blues apart.”

While the men’s tower final came down to a series of very good dives, the women’s springboard deteriorated into what winner Karen LaFace described as a “crash contest.”

LaFace, of Ft. Lauderdale, scored 4s and 4.5s on her eighth round dive and finished with mediocre 5.5s and 6s on her last dive, but still won the gold by a wide margin with 480.63 points. Miami’s Robbi Dalton (447.63) edged St. Louis’ Melissa Graviss (446.91) to take the silver.

“It was kind of a ‘you-take-it, no, you-take-it’ finish,” Dalton said, “but that’s my highest finish ever in a national-caliber meet, so I’m really happy.”

Wendy Satterlee, who was battling Dalton for second place after the ninth round, floundered on her final dive, scoring 2.5s and 3s. Dalton knew the door was open and the sub-par 4.5s and 5s she managed on her final dive were enough to give her the silver medal.

LaFace, 25, suffered a broken foot last August and has only been training full time since January. She deferred acceptance to medical school to allow her to concentrate on a shot at the 1992 Olympics.

“I felt really good all week, in practices and in competitions,” she said. “I felt really strong and focused. I have to work on those two dives. I feel like the rest of my list is in pretty good shape right now.”