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    San Juan Hills’ Taylor Fox outduels friendly rival Ella Roselli of Mater Dei for CIF-SS diving title
    • April 28, 2023

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    RIVERSIDE — The CIF-SS Division 1 girls diving championships returned to its familiar setting Thursday with ideal weather and tight competition but never stood a chance of really separating San Juan Hills’ Taylor Fox and Mater Dei’s Ella Roselli.

    The training partners with the Mission Viejo Nadadores’ club are too close, and too supportive of each other, to be separated beyond the mandatory scores from the judges.

    “I’m happy if she does good,” Fox said of Roselli.

    “There’s no one better to lose to,” Roselli said of Fox.

    So in some ways, the friendly rivals both won as they soared above the field at Riverside City College, which hosted the event for the first since 2019.

    Fox’s clean technique and ability to adjust to the springboards contributed to a separation on the scoreboard. The junior committed to Texas delivered a consistent 11-dive list and claimed her second consecutive Division 1 title with a score of 582.85, outdistancing the Indiana-bound Roselli by about 30 points.

    “(Her diving) is taking off,” Nadadores associate head coach Todd Mulzet said of Fox, who recently won U.S. regional titles on 3-meter and platform. “She’s very technical. All the mechanics are exactly where they need to be, and she is a competitor.

    “If it comes down to ‘I got to hit this dive’ my money is on her,” he added of Fox. “She’s fierce.”

    Fox showcased her technical side by earning several 9s and a 10 on a back dive on 1-meter.

    She also was sound on more difficult dives, including a reverse 2 1/2 somersaults on 3-meter.

    “I was happy with the consistency of my list,” said Fox, who improved her score from last season by almost 24 points. “One of my bigger goals is to be more consistent because I don’t do the hardest dives.”

    Roselli, a senior, finished second with 552.80 points.

    A former gymnast, Roselli started diving about 3 1/2 years ago and is headed to the Big Ten Conference. “I’ve come a long way,” she said.

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    Fox and Roselli both said won’t compete at the section’s state qualifier on Tuesday because of diving conflicts.

    Mater Dei freshman Gianna Kenrick placed third with 488.45 points and hoped to compete next week.

    Fullerton senior Abigail Ekstrom and Cypress junior Isabella Chen finished first and second in the Division 3 final on Wednesday with scores of 533.25 and 528.70, respectively. The Penn State-bound Ekstrom claimed her second consecutive title.

    In boys results Thursday, Capistrano Valley Christian sophomore Grant Schneider won Division 4 with a score of 576.90.

    ​ Orange County Register 

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