updated 11:10 p.m. ET June 11, 2004

ST. PETERS, Mo. - Laura Wilkinson will have to be content with trying to defend her individual gold medal at the Athens Olympics.

Wilkinson and Kimiko Soldati were beaten by Sara Hildebrand and Cassandra Cardinell in synchronized 10-meter platform at the U.S. diving trials Thursday night.

The Wilkinson-Soldati team, formed just six months ago, earned the United States its Olympics spot with a fourth-place showing at the World Cup. But it’s Hildebrand and Cardinell who will be representing the country in Athens.

“We brought the spot home for the U.S. It was our dream to go,” Wilkinson said. “I just feel kind of bummed.”

On the men’s side, Mark Ruiz clinched a return trip to the Olympics, teaming with Kyle Prandi to win the synchro platform.

Prandi wasn’t a big fan of tandem diving, but he changed his attitude when it became apparent that a pairing with Ruiz might get them both to Athens. That proved to be accurate — they dominated platform at the trials, cruising to victory with 703.98 points.

Brothers Troy and Justin Dumais finished far back in second with 646.98. They already have a spot in the Athens, winning the synchro springboard on Wednesday.

Teenagers David Boudia and Thomas Finchum, in contention after the afternoon preliminaries, faded to third with 643.86.

Hildebrand and Cardinell came to the finals with a 22.95-point lead and increased the margin over their final five attempts, finishing with 634.29.

The Wilkinson-Soldati duo scored well on their first dive, posting scores ranging from 8.0 to 9.0. But they steadily fell behind after that, struggling to hold dives together and watching their marks for execution dip as low as 3.0.

They knew it was over after the next-to-last round, clapping for Hildebrand and Cardinell as they swam to the edge of the pool.

“They were very consistent,” Soldati said. “You’ve got to give it to them. We wish them the best in Athens. We’ll be cheering them on.”

The leaders clinched it with their last dive, a backward pike 2½ somersault with 1½ twists. Even before the scores went up, Hildebrand looked over at their coach, Jeff Huber, jumping up and down on the deck, then gave her partner a huge hug.

“I was kind of strangling her,” Hildebrand said. “She looked at me like, ’What are you doing?’ “

Wilkinson and Soldati settled for second at 600.42. Now, they’ll have to rely on the individual events to get to Athens.

Wilkinson was a surprise winner of the platform gold at Sydney four years ago, knocking off the favored Chinese. She’s in good position to return again, building a huge lead in the prelims.

The finals are set for Sunday.

“I’m in the same situation I was before this event,” Wilkinson said. “I still need to do the job. I have to earn my spot. No one is going to give it to you.”

Soldati, the oldest diver in the trials at 30, will try to get a spot in the 3-meter springboard Saturday. She led that event after the prelims.

Cardinell and Hildebrand won the last two national titles in platform. But they had never defeated the Wilkinson-Soldati team during its brief existence.

“We knew we had the potential,” said Cardinell, heading to her first Olympics. “We knew we could beat them.”

This will be the second Olympics for Hildebrand, who competed under her maiden name of Reiling in Sydney.

Ruiz was the star of American diving in 2000, but he hurt his back just before the Olympics and didn’t finish higher than sixth in his three events.

He continued to struggled with injuries over the next 2½ years, contemplating retirement at one point. But he stuck with it, getting back to the Olympics in synchro.

“It’s been a very bumpy road the last few years,” Ruiz said. “In 2000, everything came so easily.”

Finchum, 14, was barely visible atop the towering platform at the St. Peters Rec-Plex. The Indianapolis native, who just got out of eighth grade, is only 5-foot-1 and 82 pounds, but he teamed with the 15-year-old Boudia to earn one perfect 10 in the prelims.

Ruiz and Prandi faltered on their last dive in the afternoon, a backward pike 2½ somersault with 2½ twists that carries a huge 3.8-degree of difficulty. Their hands touched slightly as they were hurling themselves off the platform, which messed up their timing and caused Ruiz to cut through the water at an awkward angle.

He immediately climbed back up the tower and practiced the dive again before an exhibition by local youth divers. That paid off in the evening, when Ruiz and Prandi clinched the win with a much better effort.

“Practice makes perfect, I guess,” Ruiz said.

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