Horizon League divers compete at NCAA Zone C Qualifying Meet
March 13, 2006
A little more than two weeks ago, Cleveland State University's Thatcher Carr and Chris Dalman helped the Vikings earn their first team championship in any sport since 1999. This weekend, however, the two were working towards an individual goal: qualifying for the NCAA Diving Championships.
Carr and Dalman were among nine Horizon League divers participating at the NCAA Zone C Qualifying Meet at Ohio State's McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. Joining the CSU teammates were Jeff Jasinowski, Erin Blemberg, Crystal Syzmanski and Emily Duesler from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Mark Pappalardo, Ryan Fitzer and Sarah Economides of the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Carr, the 2006 Horizon League Champion on the 3-meter board, posted the top finish of any League competitor, earning fourth on the 1-meter board with a score of 592.90. After finishing fifth in the preliminaries, Carr rallied to move up a spot in the finals, finishing less than 26 points shy of third, the position needed to give him a chance of advancing to the championships. The top two finishers in each event (1-meter, 3-meter and platform) earn automatic bids to the meet; however, if the same diver places in the top two in more than one event, the bid moves down the list to the third place finisher.
Dalman, the Horizon League Champion on the 1-meter board, also competed in the finals in the event, finishing in eighth-place with a score of 565.60. Pappalardo finished 22nd (226.10), followed by Jasinowski in 31st (207.50) and Fitzer in 32nd (206.40).
Carr and Dalman posted the Horizon League's best scores on the 3-meter board as well, as Carr finished 10th with a 602.75 and Dalman in 12th with a 574.
Carr's first two dives of the finals went off without a hitch, as the senior scored 6.5's and 7's on both a forward 3 ½ somersault pike and a 2 1/2 somersault and 1.0 twist pike. A tough showing on the third dive - a 2 ½ reverse somersault - cost the senior crucial points, but he recovered in the final three, finishing strong with an inward 3 ½ somersault.
Dalman also scored numerous 6's in his first five dives, but his point totals were not enough to qualify. Pappalardo scored a 259.60, narrowly missing a spot in the finals, while finishing in 20th-place. Jasinowski and Fitzer rounded out the Horizon League participants in the event, placing 25th (241.15) and 32nd (211.20), respectively.
On the women's side, Horizon League champion Erin Blemberg continued to impress, posting the top scores for any League diver on both boards.
After sneaking into the 3-meter finals by tying for 18th in the preliminaries, Blemberg used several strong dives to move up five spots in the final standings. She posted a score of 497.90 and a career-best 13th place finish. She also finished 28th on the 1-meter board, posting a score of 215.90 in the preliminaries.
Blemberg's teammates, Crystal Syzmanski (223.25) and Emily Duesler (216.15), finished 33rd and 36th for 3-meter event, while UIC's Sarah Economides finished 35th with a score of 221.75. On the 1-meter board, Syzmanski finished 36th (198.60), followed by Duesler in 39th (193.10) and Economides in 42nd (175.00).
The 2006 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships will take place March 23-25 at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
