Polyakova Earns Bronze at Summer Universiade
August 29, 2017 | Swimming & Diving
TAIPEI -- Taiwan recently played host to the 29th Summer Universiade and the top athletes in the world, including UCLA divers Ruby Neave and Maria Polyakova. Neave, an incoming freshman, represented her native country of Australia in the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions, while Russian senior-to-be Polyakova participated in four events and earned a bronze medal in the process.
Polyakova, who has competed abroad throughout the summer, let her international experience show in her first dives of the eight-day event. The Penza, Russia native led all divers after the preliminary round of the 1-meter contest, totaling a score of 264.65. Her final two dives, 105B and 5134D, went for identical scores of 55.90 to top all competitors in each round. Joining Polyakova in the field was Neave, who, despite a slow start, finished strong with fourth- and fifth-round scores of 50.40 and a Polyakova-matching 55.90, respectively. Neave came in at 222.95.
Later that day, Polyakova returned to the pool with her eye on the gold and facing stiff competition from the seven other finalists. Following a slow start that placed her last after two dives, the 2016 Pac-12 champion in the event, nearly did enough to reach the podium. After posting the third round's best dive (57.60), Polyakova notched the second-best mark of the fourth round to put her in sixth place. She saved her best for last, as her 5134D went for a score of 62.40โthe highest showing of the day. Polyakova completed the final round with a score of 267.70 and a fourth-place finish.
The Mixed Synchro 3-Meter also featured Polyakova, who was joined by teammate Viktor Minibaev. The pair remained in striking distance after two dives with a sixth-place standing out of 10 teams. A 66.60 on the duo's 205B in the third round, followed by a 67.89 107B in the fourth round, put Polyakova and Minibaev just 6.72 behind Mexico's Adan Emidio Zuniga and Arantxa Chavez. The Russian team proved unable to keep its momentum going, however, as it settled into sixth place to conclude the competition.
After narrowly missing the podium on her three prior tries, Polyakova finally earned her medal two days later in the Women's Synchro 3-Meter. Along with partner Elena Chernykh, the duo started slow before recovering with top-five-ranking dives on its final four attempts. Scores improved with each showing, ending with a 63.00 on the pair's 405B to secure a third-place finish and bronze medal.
To wrap up the Bruin participation at the World University Games, Neave tackled the 3-meter on Aug. 25. The preliminary round saw the Australian get off to a great start, checking in with a score of 55.50 to place ninth in the 32-diver field. Neave remained in the middle of the pack the rest of the way, eventually qualifying her for the semifinal with a score of 249.40. There, Neave shined brightest with a third-round offering of 60.00, but would not advance to the final.
Recent UCLA graduate Katy Campbell was scheduled to race in the Women's Marathon Swimming (10km) event, but did not compete with three other Americans, USA Swimming said, "[d]ue to expected high air and water temperatures on race day".
Players Mentioned
