Hurricanes Compete on 1-Meter at NCAA Championships
March 16, 2006
<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>ATHENS, Ga. – University of Miami divers Melanie Rinaldi and Heather Bounds finished 16th and 17th, respectively, on the 1-meter springboard preliminaries at the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships held at the University of Georgia’s Gabrielsen Natatorium Thursday afternoon. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
Rinaldi, a senior out of Montreal, Canada, came in 16th place after scoring a mark of 268.70. Bounds, a junior out of Austin, Texas, turned in her best-ever performance on the 1-meter when she tallied a score of 267.25 to come in 17th.
The top eight divers in the morning’s preliminaries move on to the evening’s finals. Rinaldi’s 16th place finish gives the Hurricanes one point towards their team score.
“Melanie missed a dive that she could have done better in but she dove well today. Heather had her best showing on the 1-meter and she generally gets better the higher up she goes,” said head coach Randy Ableman. “We put a point on the board and hopefully we’ll do better tomorrow.”
The Hurricanes resume action at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships Friday with the 3-meter springboard. Prelims begin at 11:00 a.m. followed by finals at 7:00 p.m.
