Simi Valley’s Janik Slips to Fourth-Place Finish

Nancy Janik was sitting pretty Thursday night. As those around her fell apart, over rotating their somersaults or missing their entries, she calmly moved into medal contention in the one-meter springboard competition of the Phillips 66 Diving Championships at USC.

But she lost control on her ninth dive and had to settle for a fourth-place finish.

Janik ripped several of her entries, diving parlance for the ultimate slice into the water, and showed exceptional height and grace off the board. But the 32-year-old from Simi Valley couldn’t build a lead over the 13-woman field because of a series of entries with a slight splash, leaving her with scores in the 6-7 range instead of the 7-8 level.

Still, after eight dives Janik had a shot at her first national title, holding second place, six points behind Doris Glenn Easterly.

But Janik’s ninth dive, a back 1 1/2 somersault, was disastrous. “That kinda gave it away,” she said.

It started off well enough. Janik leaped high above the board, throwing her legs over her head. As she came out of the somersault, however, she pulled back too hard and her feet flopped over, creating a splash. The judges gave her two scores of 4 1/2 and three 5s, dropping her to fifth.

A knifelike entry at the end of her last dive, an inward 1 1/2 somersault, was rewarded with scores of 7 and 7 1/2, moving Janik into fourth place with 415.59 points, 15 points behind titlist Carrie Zarse.

“It’s frustrating,” she said. “Usually my back 1 1/2 is consistent.”

Janik, who competes for Rose Bowl Aquatics, attributed the miscue to her lack of training. Her job as a software designer leaves her little time for training.

Janae Lautenschlager of Northridge did not make the finals. In the semifinals Thursday morning, she scored 363.15 points, resulting in a 15th-place standing.