Lohman Qualifies for NCAA Championships in One-Meter

Friday, March 12

West Lafayette, Ind.

1:00 PM

Michigan

NCAA Zone C Diving (Day 1)

3/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving

March 12, 2010

Site: West Lafayette, Ind. (Boilermaker Aquatic Center)
Event: NCAA Zone C Diving Championships (Day 1 of 3)
U-M Team Result: No team scoring
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 13 - at NCAA Zone C Diving Championships (West Lafayette, Ind.), 1 p.m.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- University of Michigan women's diver Amanda Lohman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships on Friday (March 12) at NCAA Zone C Diving Championships, taking second on the one-meter springboard at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. Lohman, one of 18 divers that qualified for the finals, scored 565.00 in two six-dive sessions, while Erin Mertz (Purdue) took first (588.50).

Each of the five zones receives four automatic-qualifying berths to the NCAA Championships (March 18-20), with the other bids determined by 2009 NCAA finishes. Zone C will receive an additional five bids, bringing the total to nine from the region heading on to national championships. According to the NCAA Regional manual, whichever diver finishes second on one-meter is fifth in the qualifying queue for NCAAs.

Seniors Stephanie O'Callaghan (Howell, Mich./Howell) and Caitlin Dunphy-Daly (Royal Oak, Mich./Rochester) were also in action Friday, competing in the preliminaries. O'Callaghan took 31st (221.40) and Dunphy-Daly finished in 34th (213.20).

The Michigan divers will be back in action tomorrow (Saturday, March 13) at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. Competition on the three-meter board will begin at 1 p.m. Junior Rachael Ropeik (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) will join the other Wolverine divers for the three-meter and platform dives.

Event Winners/U-M Finishers

One-meter diving 1. Erin Mertz, Purdue          588.50 2. Amanda Lohman, U-M          565.0031. Stephanie O'Callaghan, U-M  221.4034. Caitlin Dunphy-Daly, U-M    213.20

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Diving Chris Bergére
On Amanda Lohman's performance ... "Amanda did a great job for us. She was steady the whole time and really kept her composure under pressure. I couldn't be happier. She couldn't be happier. It really takes the pressure off the rest of her weekend by qualifying on the first day. It was best-case scenario for her. She feels great about it."

On seniors Stephanie O'Callaghan and Caitlin Dunphy-Daly ... "Our two seniors, Caitlin Dunphy-Daly and Stephanie O'Callaghan did respectable job, a nice job on one-meter. They can dive better, but they were respectable today and that's what counts."

Contact: Brad Rudner (734) 763-4423