March 13, 2009
Three Purdue divers clinched a trip to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships with their performances Friday at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships. David Colturi and David Boudia each earned a spot for the men's team, while Casey Matthews dove into the women's championship meet.
"As expected, today was a long, drawn-out dog fight," head diving coach Adam Soldati said. "As a team, they get an A grade. There is a lot of diving ahead of us. We need to stay humble and focused and continue to punch until the final bell rings."
Colturi clinched his second trip to the national championship meet in as many seasons by winning the 1-meter competition. The All-American sophomore from Sylvania, Ohio, returns to the NCAA Championships where last season he finished third from the 1-meter springboard.
Boudia clinched his first trip to the NCAA Championships by finishing second Friday. The freshman from Noblesville, Ind., swept all three Big Ten diving titles two weeks ago inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. Sophomore Kyle Mitrione finished sixth in the 1-meter competition and awaits his fate as the rest of the weekend competition plays out.
Matthews, a freshman from Getzville, N.Y., travels to the national championship meet courtesy of her second-place finish off the 3-meter springboard. Matthews ranks in the top-10 on Purdue's all-time performance list in all three diving competitions.
Junior Ashley Karnes and senior Emily Wetzel have to wait to find out if they will compete at NCAAs after finishing fifth and sixth, respectively, during Friday's competition. Karnes won the Big Ten title off the 1-meter and was named co-Diver of the Championships last month, and Wetzel claimed the conference platform crown at the Big Ten Championships.
The NCAA Zone C Diving Championships continue from the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn., Saturday with the women's 1-meter competition and the men's 3-meter. Zone C, which covers schools from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin, will send eight men and 10 women to the NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas. The women's meet begins Thursday, while the men's meet starts March 26.