Sophomore diver Matteo Santoro wasted no time making a splash in his second season with the Miami Hurricanes, capturing gold in the men’s 1-meter springboard during Miami’s season-opening meet against the Florida Gators on Friday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville.
Santoro claimed the top spot with a score of 374.18, leading the Hurricanes in their first competition of the 2026-27 season.
The Italian standout nearly completed a sweep of the springboard events, finishing second in the men’s 3-meter with 382.13 points, just 8.17 points behind Florida’s Miguel Tovar, who took gold with 390.30.
Santoro’s season-opening performance follows a remarkable freshman campaign that saw him emerge as one of the nation’s top collegiate divers.
At the 2026 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships, Santoro earned All-America honors in both springboard events, finishing as the national runner-up in the 1-meter with 412.50 points and fourth in the 3-meter with 465.95.
He also collected two medals at the ACC Championships, taking bronze in the 1-meter and silver in the 3-meter, making him the most nationally decorated Hurricane divers to return this season.
Santoro entered his collegiate career with an impressive international résumé, including a gold medal alongside former Hurricane Chiara Pellacani in the mixed 3-meter synchronized event at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
But Santoro wasn’t the only Hurricane making waves in Gainesville.
Freshman Valerio Mosca impressed in his collegiate debut, bringing home bronze in the men’s 1-meter with 359.85 points, finishing behind teammate Santoro and Florida’s Conor Gesing.
In the men’s 3-meter, Mosca narrowly missed the podium, placing fourth with a score of 364.95.
The pair’s performances gave Miami two top-four finishers in each springboard event to open the season.
Miami’s men’s diving program enters the 2026-27 campaign looking to build on last season’s momentum, which included five All-America honors among three divers at the NCAA Championships.
The Hurricanes return to Coral Gables on Friday, Oct. 23, for Dual-A-Pool-Ooza against FIU, Vanderbilt and Liberty at the Whitten Center Pool. First splash is set for noon.
