March 8, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue senior Amanda Miller earned the second All-America citation of her career Thursday night at the NCAA Championships with a fourth-place finish off the 1-meter springboard.
Miller set a school record with 340.20 points, which broke her previous mark of 332.33 points set this past November at Northwestern.
The Centreville, Va., native was a model of consistency throughout finals, scoring between 51 and 57 points on her first five dives. However, Miller saved her best for last and scored 62.40 points on her final attempt - a forward 2.5 somersault pike.
"That's the best dive on her list," said Purdue diving coach Adam Soldati. "You always want to put the dive you count on most at the end, and she was near perfect both times in prelims and finals."
Miller qualified seventh of 39 divers this afternoon with 321.80 points, making last year's result obsolete. Miller placed 37th off the 1-meter at the 2006 NCAA's with just 228.65 points.
Soldati was more than impressed by how far his senior diver had improved over the past year.
"To move from last to fourth says it all about Amanda," said Soldati. "Her performance tonight was a tribute to her work ethic, tenacity, and overall desire to be the best. The whole staff is proud of her, she competed well."
Stanford's Cassidy Krug won the 1-meter national title with 361.55 points, followed by Indiana's Christina Loukas (360.35) and Miami's Jenna Dreyer (350.55).
A three-time NCAA qualifier, Miller claimed her first All-America title in 2006 after finishing fifth off tower with 296.90 points. She was a 2006 honorable mention All-American off the 3-meter with an 11th-place total of 306.15 points.
All three Boilermakers will be in action Friday. Miller and sophomore Emily Wetzel compete off the 3-meter springboard, while senior Carlene Takaki tackles the 100-yard butterfly.
Prelims begin at noon EST and finals start at 7 p.m.
The 2007 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships will be covered online on ESPN360 starting Friday. Fans can log on to ESPN360.com to watch the events from 7 to 10 p.m. EST both Friday and Saturday night.