March 12, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - As divers pondered their chances of making it to nationals, all that's certain is the final list of 14 divers headed to NCAA's from the Region C Diving Zone will be determined in approximately 24 hours.
After the second day of springboard competition, there are only two allocations remaining on the women's side and three on the men's. Those who have clinched spots for nationals are Marc Carlton (Indiana), Cassandra Cardinell (Indiana), Steven LoBue (Purdue), Christina Loukas (Indiana), Brian Mariano (Indiana), Carrie McCambridge (Purdue), Meghan Perry-Eaton (Notre Dame), Mitch Richeson (Ohio State) and Nancilea Underwood (Iowa).
Indiana's Carlton and Loukas clinched their spots Saturday by winning off the 3- and 1-meter springboards at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center; however, the final order of qualifiers won't be known until the conclusion of Sunday's platform competition.
Carlton was Saturday's 3-meter champion with 594.65 points, while yesterday's 1-meter champion Richeson was second with 583.25 points. IU's Mariano was third with 534.30 points.
Purdue's top finisher was 1-meter runner-up LoBue, who scored a sixth-place total of 516.90 points. Senior Clay Davis was two places behind with 503.45 points and junior Josh Karshen was ninth with 503.45 points. Senior David Hanisch was 18th with 437.60 points.
Loukas claimed the 1-meter crown with 614.50 points, beating Purdue's McCambridge (596.90) by almost 18 points. McCambridge also finished as the runner-up Saturday off the 3-meter springboard.
2004 All-American Perry Eaton finished a strong third with 588.65 points, and was followed by Indiana's Cardinell (568.60) and Lisa Silvestri (545.15). Boilermaker Amanda Miller was seventh with a personal best of 532.35 points.
Miller, who qualified for last year's national championships, will likely have to win off the platform in order to become a two-time NCAA qualifier. Her teammates Karshen, Davis and Hanisch will have to accomplish the same as well.
The platform has traditionally been Karshen's top event, as he was the third-place finisher at last year's zone meet and was the runner-up at 2004 Big Ten's. Karshen was ninth off the platform at this past year's conference championship.
IU will certainly challenge the Boilermakers off the tower. The Hoosier women, led by Cardinell, claimed five of the top-eight spots at Big Ten's, while Carlton and his crew clinched four of the top-five places.
The women's platform competition begins Sunday at 11 a.m., and will be followed by the men's tower approximately 30 minutes later. Round-by-round results of the NCAA Region C Diving Zones can be accessed here.