February 19, 2008

Strong last round lifts Wilkinson, Ishimatsu into women's 10-meter finals at World Cup

BEIJING – With one round to go in the women’s 10-meter semifinals Wednesday morning at the Good Luck Beijing/FINA Diving World Cup, Laura Wilkinson (Spring, Texas) and Haley Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.) were on the outside looking in.    

Only the top 12 would advance to the finals; after four rounds, Wilkinson was in 16th place, Ishimatsu 18th.           

No problem. Both divers saved their best for last, each scoring 86.70 points on the same dive -- a back 2 ½ pike somersault with 1 ½ twists. They tied for the highest score in the fifth round and did enough to move into the finals.            

Wilkinson ended up 10th with 324.10 points, and Ishimatsu scored 312.60 points for 12th place. China's Chen Ruolin led the semifinal field with 422.00 points.

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