March 18, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's swimming and diving team put forth two All-American performances Thursday evening to wrap up day one of the NCAA Championships inside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.
Junior Erin Mertz scored 303.45 points to place eighth on the 1-meter springboard and earn All-America acclaim for the second consecutive season. The Omaha, Neb., native scored in her first national championship event as a Boilermaker after transferring from Kansas following an All-America showing from the lowest springboard at last year's NCAA Championships.
"It means a lot to represent a new school, team and coach," Mertz said. "I love Purdue, and I couldn't imagine competing for anyone else and being able to do it in our amazing pool. It was an advantage to host this at our pool and to be able to dive in the finals. All-American to me means that I have a great coach and I'm just competing to the best of my ability."
Sophomore Casey Matthews earned the highest NCAA placing of her young career while diving to honorable-mention All-America honors for the second consecutive year. The Getzville, N.Y., native put 319.35 points on the board during her six-dive list to win the consolation final and earn ninth-place points after a 12th-place finish in the event last year.
The two scorers totaled 20 points and placed Purdue 15th in the team standings after six events. Stanford leads the pack with 142.5 points and is followed by Georgia's 134-point total. Defending champion Cal is third with 122, and Florida and Texas A&M round out the top five with 107 and 106 points, respectively.
The NCAA Championships continue Friday with a session of preliminary events that begins at 11 a.m. ET. The 200 medley relay is the first event on the docket and is to be followed by the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, 800 freestyle relay and 3-meter springboard. Live results and live video can be found at purduesports.com.