The 2008 Women’s Division I NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships begin on Thursday, March 20, at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Diving will take place on each of the competition days, beginning with the one-meter preliminaries on Thursday afternoon. Finals for all events will begin at 7:00 p.m.
Live action can be viewed on the NCAA website. You must sign up to watch the action, but login is free. Delayed coverage of the championships will be shown on ESPN2 on Friday, March 28 at 2 p.m. EST.
Who To Watch
One-Meter Springboard
Two finalists return from 2007 - UCLA junior Marisa Samaniego, sixth a year ago, and eighth place finisher Kathryn Kelly, a junior from Texas. Watch out for freshman Bianca Alvarez (Ohio State) and Meg Hostage (Stanford). Hostage won the one-meter competition at the Zone C championships and Alvarez finished third this summer on one-meter at the Kaiser Permanente National Diving Championships. Mary Yarrison (Texas) won the one-meter springboard title at the 2007 Speedo USA Diving Spring National Diving Championships, and is a threat to win her first NCAA title. Others to watch include Ashley Karnes (Purdue), Hannah Moore (Georgia), Taryn Zack (South Carolina), Lauren Leroy (Tennessee) and Brittany Viola (Miami).
Three-meter Springboard
A wide-open field will vie for the three-meter title with Yarrison as the lone returning finalist from a year ago. The senior finished seventh in 2007 and recently returned from the World Cup Selection Camp held in Columbus. If Purdue sophomore Ashley Karnes carries momentum from zones she could prove tough to beat. Karnes easily won both the one- and three-meter events at Zone C, which were also held at Ohio State one week ago. Others to look for include Meg Hostage (Stanford), Brittany Viola (Miami), Marisa Samaniego (UCLA), Hannah Moore (Georgia), Taryn Zack (South Carolina), Lauren Leroy (Tennessee), Ashley Karnes (Purdue), Ginni Van Katwijk (Houston), and three Ohio State divers, Chelsea Davis, Kristen Asman and Bianca Alvarez.
Platform
Miami sophomore Brittany Viola looks to be the favorite in platform. She finished sixth in 2007, and won the Zone B championships by over 100 points. Hostage and sophomore teammate Shana Karp will give Stanford a one-two punch, and could possibly put coach Rick Shavone in line to be named NCAA Diving Coach of the Year for the third time. Others to watch include Rachel Ware (LSU), Lacey Truelove (Houston), Kristen Asman (Ohio State) and Ashley Karnes (Purdue).
NCAA Women’s Diver of the Year
Best bet for diver of the year – Meg Hostage of Stanford. While only a freshman, she has the ability of making finals in all three diving events. If she gets freshman jitters, look for sophomores Brittany Viola and Ashley Karnes, strong favorites to pick up All-America honors in three events. Don’t count out experience though, Mary Yarrison will be competing in her third NCAA championships and could upstage the impressive underclassmen.
2008 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship Diving Schedule
Thursday, March 20
One-meter Preliminaries – 1:30 p.m.
One-meter Consolation Finals (places 9-16) - 3:15 p.m.
One-meter Finals – 7:00 p.m.*
Friday, March 22
Three-meter Preliminaries – 1:30 p.m.
Three-meter Consolation Finals (places 9-16) - 3:30 p.m.
Three-meter Finals – 7:00 p.m.*
Saturday, March 22
Platform Preliminaries – 1:30 p.m.
Platform Consolation Finals (places 9-16) - 3:15 p.m.
Platform Finals – 7:00 p.m.*
*Finals for both swimming and diving begin at 7:00
