University of Houston
at NCAA Zone Diving Meet
Pozdniakova Wins 3-Meter Event at NCAA Zone D Meet
3/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
March 2, 2007
AUSTIN, Texas - University of Houston sophomore Anastasia Pozdniakova scored 740.30 points to win the 3-meter springboard championship Friday afternoon during the first day of the NCAA Zone D Meet at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
Pozdniakova topped all the divers with 376.05 points in the preliminaries and continued to build on her advantage in the finals. Her point total was nearly 95 points ahead of her closest competitor, Texas' Mary Yarrison
Junior Ginni van Katwijk scored 622.280 points in the finals to finish third, while senior captain Rachel Gitelson scored 528.10 points to finish eighth.
With their performances, both Pozdniakova and van Katwijk earned places at the 2007 NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., on March 8-10. It will be the first NCAA Championship appearances for either diver.
The three-day meet continues at noon, Saturday with the 1-meter board and wraps up at 10 a.m., Sunday, with the platform competition. Admission to the meet is free, and the public is invited to attend.
Pozdniakova and van Katwijk are scheduled to compete for the Cougars on the 1-meter board while Gitelson will take the day off before taking part in Sunday's platform event.
All four divers entered the NCAA Zone De meet after award-winning performances throughout the 2006-07 season. Pozdniakova won both the 1- and 3-meter springboard events during the recent C-USA Championship at UH's own Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium on Feb. 14-17.
A four-time C-USA Diver of the Week recipient in 2006-07, the Elektrostal, Russia, native was recognized for her impressive performances as the C-USA Diver of the Meet.
Gitelson helped lead the Cougar divers to the sweep at the C-USA meet by winning the platform competition. The Glendale, Ariz., native is the only Cougar with previous experience at the NCAA Championships. After winning the platform title at the 2005 NCAA Zone D meet, Gitelson competed on the platform at the NCAA Championships, where she finished 12th.
van Katwijk is the newest member of the Cougar diving corps after transferring from Wyoming. However, the Grootebroek, Netherlands, native made an immediate impact during her first season and joined Pozdniakova as the only divers to finish among the Top Three individual leaders in all three diving events at the C-USA Championship.
The Cougar divers are under the leadership of Jane Figueiredo, who recently was named the C-USA Diving Coach of the Year for the sixth consecutive season. Now in her 17th season as the diving head coach, Figueiredo already has led 21 divers to the NCAA Championships and will be looking to add to that total this weekend.
Players Mentioned
