The statement is just saying you should apply to a more plausible reach school over a super reach, so it's correct.

This is not an assumption made by J.Y. because the stimulus explicitly states the deep-sea photos of the Rienzi taken were when it was on the ocean floor.

"Deep-sea photographs, taken of the sunken Rienzi where it rests on the ocean floor...".

You are right, and I believe a future lesson touches on this. However, this lesson is about evaluating the truth of a hypothesis' predictions, not proving the hypothesis true. If a hypothesis' predictions are observed to be true, that supports the hypothesis, increasing the likelihood that it is true.

No, you are not wrong in thinking this way. Makes sense!