The 2015 CAA Men’s and Women's Diving Championships officially kicked off on Saturday evening at the University of Delaware’s Rawstrom Natatorium and the league crowned two new diving champions after Day 1 in Newark.
This is the first year that the CAA Swimming & Diving Championships are being held at two separate times. The Diving Championship commenced today and runs through Sunday evening, while the Swimming Championship (Held in Richmond, Va.) begins on Wednesday, February 25 and continues through Saturday, February 28.
Women’s 3-Meter Finals
James Madison sophomore Taryn McLaughlin, last year’s CAA Diver and Rookie Diver of the Year, repeated as the conference’ 3-Meter champion on Saturday with a stellar score of 337.90. At last year’s championship, she set a new meet record with a score of 373.85.
McLaughlin is the first CAA women’s diver to repeat on the 3-Meter board since former Duke Kimberly Helfrich claimed back-to-back titles from 2012-13. On Sunday, McLaughlin looks to defend her 1-Meter title and is trying to become the first back-to-back winner for the event since former Drexel standout Kate Hynes won it four straight years from 2006-09.
The Dukes added another spot in the top three when fellow sophomore Olivia Lehman placed second behind McLaughlin with a score of 308.80. Delaware junior Caitlin Stockwell placed third on the 3-Meter with a 300.40 score.
Men’s 1-Meter Finals
The men’s diving competition fittingly came down to the very last attempt to determine this year’s new champion. In the end, UNCW sophomore Giovanni Villanueva grabbed the top honors on the 1-Meter with a score of 326.30. The score was a mere 2.2 points better than Drexel junior David Sanchez (324.10), who was the night’s final diver. Villanueva is the first Seahawk male to win the CAA 1-Meter dive since Kobi Salinas won the title in 2008.
Sanchez, who was named CAA Diver and Rookie Diver of the Year in 2013, finished second on both the 1 and 3-Meter board at the championship last year. Fellow UNCW diver Chase Seymour, a senior, placed third on Saturday night with a score of 302.50.
On Sunday, the competitors head back on the board for the women’s 1-Meter Finals and the men’s 3-Meter Finals, which take place at 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., respectively.
Day 1 Women's 3-Meter Results
1. Taryn McLaughlin, James Madison (337.90)
2. Olivia Lehman, James Madison (308.80)
3. Caitlin Stockwell, Delaware (300.40)
4. Lyndsey Dickson, Towson (296.90)
5. Natalee Szopo, Towson (292.85)
6. Kristina Congdon, Delaware (280.95)
7. Carly Alexander, James Madison (272.15)
8. Alyssa Seales, Northeastern (266.80)
Day 1 Men's 1-Meter Results
1. Giovanni Villanueva, UNCW (326.30)
2. David Sanchez, Drexel (324.10)
3. Chase Seymour, UNCW (302.50)
4. Nathan Lane, UNCW (278.30)
5. Patrick McCann, Delaware (252.45)
6. Shane Miller, UNCW (243.15)
7. Devin Hall, UNCW (240.80)
8. Simon Carne, Drexel (231.65)
Men’s Prelims results 8-16.
9. Colin Hall, Delaware (258.65)
10. Anthony Cirell, Drexel (225.50)
11. James Willingham, CofC (215.40)
12. Michael Topitzer, CofC (193.05)
13. Michael Vennel, Drexel (189.20)
14. Phillip Forrester, Towson (183.70)
15. Shayne Watson, Drexel (180.60)
16. Max Rutcofsky, Delaware (164.50)
Women’s Prelims results 8-16.
9. Hannah Aryce Ostrem, Towson (282.00)
10. Molly Arceri, Towson (259.30)
11. Jacquelyn Gover, Northeastern (257.70)
12. Caroline Gonsalves, Northeastern (254.85)
13. Rachel McCormick, UNCW (245.70)
14. Megan Rutter, Northeastern (236.65)
15. Elizabeth Keefer, Delaware (234.30)
16. Megan Norton, CofC (223.70)
Delaware
Junior Caitlin Stockwell provided the top performance for the University of Delaware diving team with a third place finish in the women’s 3 – meter event on day one of the Colonial Athletic Association Diving Championships Saturday.
Stockwell’s (bottom left) 300.4 total in the women’s 3 – meter is a personal-best and the third-best score for the Blue Hens in the event this season.
On the men’s side, Patrick McCann was the lone Blue Hen to qualify for the finals of the men’s 1 – meter competition. McCann tallied a score of 252.45 in the finals, which was good for fifth place.
Along with Stockwell, Kristina Congdon also qualified for the women’s 3 – meter final. The junior recorded a sixth place finish with a point total of 280.95.
“There were a lot of ups and downs today; it was like a roller coaster,” said University of Delaware diving coach Brian Payne. “Stockwell has a great come-from-behind performance in the women’s 3 – meter finals and Congdon had a tough time on an extremely complicated twisting dive.”
Men’s diver Colin Hall failed to qualify for the finals in the men’s 1 – meter, but the junior won the consolation competition with a score of 258.65.
Giovanni Villanueva of UNCW edged David Sanchez of Drexel by 2.20 points to take the men’s CAA 1 – meter crown, while Taryn McLaughlin of James Madison put forth a dominant performance one the women’s side. The sophomore registered a score of 337.90 and cleared the rest of the field by 29.10 points. to claim the CAA women’s 3 – meter title for the second consecutive season.
“Today was a great day of competition and there was a high degree of difficulty across the board,” said Payne. “A lot of divers came in with previous training and you could see that highly competitive events can have adverse affects on those who are not focused.”
Day two of the CAA Diving Championships will begin at 12 p.m. Sunday. The events will include the men’s 3 – meter and women’s 1 – meter competitions. The finals are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. with all competitions taking place at the University of Delaware’s Rawstrom Natatorium.
HEN SCRATCHINGS:
· The third UD men’s diver to compete Saturday was Max Rutcofsky, who had no diving experience prior to this season. The junior walk-on finished eighth in the consolation event.
· “Rutcofsky has only been diving for three months,” said Payne. “He did not dive in high school and was able to learn difficult dives to be competitive for this championship. He has been the hardest worker on the team and has been a pleasant surprise.”
· Elizabeth Keefer was the only Delaware women’s diver to compete on the consolation event. The junior finished seventh in the consolation round with a score of 324.30.
· Saturday marked the first time in program history that the University of Delaware hosted the CAA Diving Championships.
FINALS AGATE:
Women:
3rd Place: Caitlin Stockwell - 1-meter (300.4)
6th Place: Kristina Congdon - 1-meter (280.95)
Men:
5th Place: Patrick McCann - 3-meter (252.45)
