US Olympic Swimming & Diving Trials: UNC Tar Heels diver Elissa Dawson reaches finals

After competing over the last week, one of UNC's three divers has reached the finals for the US Olympic Trials. Elissa Dawson, a rising junior from Durham, North Carolina is currently ranked seventh in the women's solo 3-meter springboard competition. She scored a 288.90 in the prelims before a strong semifinals gave her a cumulative score of 602.10 points heading into the finals on Sunday at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis. The event will be covered by NBC Sports beginning at 4:50 PM Eastern Time.

The other two UNC divers were rising senior Jack Nyquist and alumni Michole Timm. Nyquist was eliminated with a 306.80 score, while Timm reached the semifinals and just missed the finals with a 530.60 cumulative score, finishing in 13th place.

As the divers are set to finish their trials on Sunday, the swimmers trials will just be underway. A total of 30 UNC students and alumni will compete to be selected to the U.S. Olympic Swim Team for Rio 2016. The event will take place from June 26-July 3 at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Prelims will begin at 10 AM with the finals taking place at 6:45 PM. Check out the full schedule of events here, which will be streamed live by NBC Sports.

The full group of Tar Heels includes both men and women competing in the freestyle, backstroke, individual medley, breaststroke, and butterfly events. You can see the full list of UNC competitors here.

In the history of the University, there have been 10 swimmers from North Carolina who have made an appearance in the Olympics, the last being Yann DeFabrique and David Fox in Atlanta 1996. Dawson could become the first North Carolina diver to reach the Olympics. If any were to be selected to the US team, they would represent the school's first representatives since the 2012 events in London.

Opening ceremonies for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will take place on August 5th with swimming and diving taking place from August 5-21.