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BLACKSBURG, Va. – Sophomore Ryan Hawkins and junior Logan Shinholser of the Virginia Tech diving program will represent the United States in the 2012 Canada Cup FINA Grand Prix this weekend at the Olympic Park pool in Montreal, Quebec.

“We are all very excited for the opportunity to represent the USA in this prestigious event,” commented head diving coach Ron Piemonte. “It will be an awesome opportunity for Logan and Ryan to gain some valuable experience before the Olympic Trials, and should also prove to be invaluable as we look forward and head into next season. These guys finished out this year really strong, and I look forward to seeing them compete on the World scene.

Competition will begin on Thursday at 10 a.m., starting with the women’s 3-meter preliminary event. Following the first event, Shinholser will be the first to dive into the water for Tech in the preliminary round of the men’s 10-meter event starting at 12:15 p.m. The finals for the men’s 10-meter will begin on Saturday at 3:09 p.m.

Shinholser will later pair up with Hawkins on Sunday in the men’s 10-meter synchronized event beginning at 1:40 p.m.

In addition to the divers, Piemonte is one of the national team’s coaches for the competition due to having two divers in three events.

Tech’s top duo previously were selected to represent the United States in Canada from their performances at the 2012 USA Diving Winter National Championships back in December. Shinholser and Hawkins just missed third place in the synchronized 10-meter event by three points, scoring a 752.49 to place fourth in the country. Individually, Shinholser finished fifth in the country in the 10-meter event with a score of 1,218.55.

You can find all of the Canada Cup’s information, including live results and live video at: http://canadacup.diving.ca/?24588C8D-EEAF-4A5E-9179-EA6145F63F3C

For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_SwimDive).