March 14, 2009
Austin, Texas - The Stanford divers will be well represented at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships after completing an outstanding Zone E Meet, where four Stanford divers advanced to national meet.
On Saturday the platform competition took place with a fourth Stanford diver improving his standing and earning a spot at the NCAA's.
For the women, Carmen Stellar placed second on platform with a score of 476.90. Stellar was already in good shape after strong results on springboard, but clinched her trip to the NCAA's from the 10-meter tower.
Also placing high on platform was Sarah Ohr who finished fifth with a score of 434.85. However, the Stanford senior fell just short of advancing to the NCAA's.
Also competing in the finals were Mary Beth Corbett who finished 15th with a score of 375.55 and Meg Hostage who finished 18th with a score of 363.00.
Hostage will also advance to the NCAA's based on her fourth place finish in the 1-meter competition on Friday.
The big winner for the men on Saturday was Brent Eichenseer who secured the final spot to nationals with his third place finish on platform. Eichenseer finished with a score of 681.00 to clinch the sixth and final qualifying spot for the men.
Also placing well in the finals on platform for Stanford was Taylor Sishc who finished 11th with a score of 554.05.
Dwight Dumais did not complete in platform, but had already clinched his trip to the NCAA's by winning the 1-meter springboard competition on Thursday.
All four Stanford divers that advanced to the NCAA's will be eligible to compete in any of the springboard or platform events. The Cardinal divers will look to add team points to both the men's and women's teams that will be competing for the national title.
The women's NCAA's will take place March 19-21, while the men's are March 26-28. Both will be contested in College Station, Texas on the campus of Texas A&M.
NCAA QUALIFIERS
Men
Michele Benedetti, Arizona State
Dwight Dumais, Stanford
Benjamin Grado, Arizona
Harrison Jones, USC
Steven Starks, USC
Brent Eichenseer, Stanford
Women
Tess Schofield, UCLA
Emma Friesen, Hawaii
Marisa Samaniego, UCLA
Victoria Ishimatsu, USC
Carmen Stellar, Stanford
Meg Hostage, Stanford
Candice Minette, Nevada