Mosca Qualifies for 2016 Olympic Trials

Although the Harvard men’s swimming and diving team has paused its competitive season until January 10^th, senior diver Mike Mosca has not stopped working. While most swimmers and divers were finishing up exams and heading home for the holidays, Mosca was competing at the U.S. Diving Winter National Championships this Sunday in Columbus, Ohio.

Mosca represented his team well with his performance, finishing in the top five in the three-meter synchronized dive alongside his partner, University of North Carolina sophomore Jack Nyquist. The pair finished with a fifth place score of 378.51 points, which was enough to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Trials.

Last year when Mosca competed at the Championships with Nyquist, the duo finished in ninth place with a score of 706.44. In 2012, Mosca finished sixth in the three-meter synchronized dive.

Nyquist currently holds the one-meter diving record for the Tar Heels with a score of 398.30, while he sits in second all-time in the three-meter with a score of 436.58.

Individually at the National Championships, Mosca placed 24^th in the one-meter dive and 15^th in the three-meter contest, though he had already qualified for the Olympic Trials in the three-meter based on his opening round score.

This accomplishment only adds to Mosca’s long list of diving achievements, most notably the titles he has won at Harvard. The Crimson has been crowned Ivy League Champion in the one-meter dive his freshman, sophomore, and junior years as well as the three-meter dive his sophomore and junior seasons. Mosca is currently the Harvard record holder in the one-meter with a score of 387.05 and the three-meter with a score of 412.42.

And Mosca’s accomplishments this year don’t stop in the pool. The History and Science concentrator was also named a Rhodes Scholar Finalist earlier this fall.

Mosca and the Crimson compete next on January 10^th in a tri-meet against Duke and South Carolina.