March 19, 2009
The Purdue women's swimming and diving team had three divers gain All-American status Thursday during the first day of competition in the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships inside Texas A&M's Student Recreation Center Natatorium in College Station, Texas.
"Today was historic for Purdue," head diving coach Adam Soldati said. "This is the most points we have scored in one day in my time as a Boilermaker. I am so proud of the girls. Ashley (Karnes) has been scraping and clawing, overcoming obstacle after obstacle to attain this tonight. There is a lot of diving ahead of us. The girls need to pat themselves on the back and get ready for tomorrow."
Junior Ashley Karnes earned the first All-American honor of her Purdue career after finishing fourth off the 1-meter springboard. Karnes, who one month ago won her first Big Ten title in the event, scored 315.40 points in the final round. The Bloomington, Ind., native and Purdue's school-record holder from the 1- and 3-meter boards, scored 302.60 points to gain the fourth-highest score in the preliminary round.
"I was super excited to have made the final," Karnes said. "This was an honorable representation by Purdue today. I just tried to relax and have fun."
Senior Emily Wetzel moved to sixth on Purdue's all-time performance list in the final 1-meter competition of her collegiate career. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native finished third in the consolation final by scoring 300.75 in the final six-dive list. Wetzel finished 11th overall in the competition and earned honorable mention All-American honors.
"Emily had a magical day," Soldati said. "Plain and simple, the last list of her career on 1-meter was nearly flawless. It was magic."
Freshman Casey Matthews also was named an honorable mention All-American in her first NCAA championships competition. The Getzville, N.Y., native placed fourth in the consolation final and 12th overall with her score of 299.00. Matthews has a career-high score of 319.90 from the 1-meter and currently stands fourth on Purdue's all-time performance list in the event.
"Casey, as a freshman at the Big Dance, handled the pressure like a seasoned veteran," Soldati said. "This was a great, great experience for her. We will build on it for tomorrow."
Purdue is 16th with 26 points after the first day of competition. The Boilermakers have already topped last year's point total from the entire championship meet of 17.
All three of Purdue's divers return to competition Friday as they join 33 other competitors battling from the 3-meter springboard. Preliminaries start at 2:30 p.m. ET, with the final tentatively scheduled for 9 p.m. Live results, as well as live video courtesy of Swimming World Magazine, can be found at purduesports.com.