ANDERSON, Ind. —
Mary Beth Dunnichay and Haley Ishimatsu made a calculated gamble Monday at the U.S. Winter Nationals in Knoxville, Tenn.
It didn’t pay off in the short-term, and the 2008 Olympic synchronized diving duo took a second-place finish behind Amy Cozad and Laura Ryan in the 10-meter platform event.
The result means Dunnichay will miss February’s FINA World Cup in London. It will be the first time she hasn’t competed at a major world event in four years.
“It’s a bummer,” Dunnichay said during a cell phone interview from Knoxville. “I’m sad. But everything happens for a reason. It’s definitely a blessing in disguise. It didn’t work out the way we hoped, but this is just how God wanted it.”
Dunnichay and Ishimatsu hadn’t dived together in more than a year.
Still, they put together one of their finest lists in Monday’s final round — scoring a robust total of 334.50 points. That number was 14 points greater than Cozad’s and Ryan’s final list, but the championship duo still edged the Olympians overall 632.07 to 626.58.
Cozad and Ryan also won the 2010 USA Diving Winter National Championships and the 2010 AT&T National Diving Championships.
The difference Monday came in the afternoon prelims, where Dunnichay and Ishimatsu finished an uncharcteristic third with 292.08 points.
There were extenuating circumstances.
Dunnichay’s surgically repaired shoulder recently has been aggravating her again, and Ishimatsu was diving off the 10-meter platform for the third consecutive day after winning the senior national individual title over the weekend.
As a result, their coaches decided to skip a warm-up list and preserve their divers’ bodies.
The prelim list ended up being used as a warm-up, and the scores reflected it.
“The people don’t understand the impact (10-meter diving) takes on your body and how much it hurts,” Dunnichay said. “We did what we had to do for our bodies, and that’s just how it ended up.”
Dunnichay said it still “felt awesome” to dive with Ishimatsu again, and she’s looking forward to more training time together soon.
The pair now will have some time to rest before the U.S. Olympic Trials in Seattle in June.
Dunnichay said it hurts not to be part of the World Cup team, but it will only make her that much more determined to earn back a spot for the 2012 Olympics.
“If I wasn’t driven before, I don’t know what I am now,” Dunnichay said. “I’m way beyond driven.”
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Mary Beth Dunnichay and Haley Ishimatsu of the United States perform during the women's 10-meter synchronized diving event at the 2009 FINA Swimming World Championships in Rome. Michael Sohn
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Second-place finish motivates Dunnichay
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