March 14, 2009
Two more Purdue divers clinched a trip to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships with their performances Saturday at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships as Ashley Karnes and Emily Wetzel added their names to the list.
Karnes, this year's Big Ten 1-meter champion and co-Diver of the Championships, finished third in the 1-meter competition to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships. Wetzel, who finished fifth in Friday's 3-meter event, was added to the national championship traveling squad based on divers finishing in the automatic-qualifying positions from both the 1- and 3-meter boards. Freshman Casey Matthews, who earned her automatic bid Friday, finished fourth from the 1-meter board Saturday.
The men did not add any new NCAA qualifiers Saturday after freshman David Boudia and All-American sophomore David Colturi qualified off the 1-meter Friday. Boudia finished second from the 3-meter board Saturday, and Colturi was sixth. Sophomore J.P. Perez finished seventh from the 3-meter and joins junior Kyle Mitrione, who finished sixth from the 1-meter, in waiting to find out if they will be invited to dive in the national championship meet.
After two days of competition, the men have filled six of their eight bids to the NCAA Championships, while the women have given away seven of their 10 tickets to the national championship meet. Both NCAA meets are being held in College Station, Texas, with the women's meet beginning Thursday and the men beginning competition March 26.
The NCAA Zone C Diving Championships conclude Sunday from the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn., with the men's and women's platform competition. Zone C covers schools from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin.