March 15, 2009
Kyle Mitrione clinched a trip to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships Sunday at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships in Minneapolis, Minn.
"Kyle earned the final qualifying spot today," head diving coach Adam Soldati said. "That young man has worked very hard for this, and it is very well deserved."
Mitrione finished 10th during Sunday's platform competition, but because of carries from the 1- and 3-meter springboards, his sixth-place finish from the 1-meter Friday was good enough to qualify him for the national championship meet. The junior from Haddonfield, N.J., joined All-American David Colturi, a sophomore from Sylvania, Ohio who finished second from the platform, and freshman David Boudia, a Noblesville, Ind., native that placed third Sunday, to give the Boilermakers three entries into the NCAA Men's Championships.
The Boilermaker women also are sending three divers to their national championship meet. Big Ten champions Ashley Karnes and Emily Wetzel, in addition to freshman Casey Matthews, punched their tickets to the NCAA Women's Championships earlier in the weekend. Matthews claimed an automatic-qualifying spot from the 3-meter Friday, while Karnes earned her automatic-qualifying finish in the 1-meter Saturday. Wetzel qualified off the 3-meter after carries into the 1-meter Saturday.
"I am very proud to be the coach of all of the Boilermakers," Soldati said. "Whether they made it to the national championships or not, they have all worked very hard all season."
Both NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships are scheduled to be held inside Texas A&M's Student Recreation Center Natatorium in College Station, Texas. The women's meet begins Thursday, while competition in the men's meet starts March 26.