Hurricanes Sweep ACC Diver of the Year Awards
March 28, 2006
CORAL GABLES, <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Fla. – University of Miami divers swept the Atlantic Coast Conference Diver of the Year Awards for the second consecutive season after Derek Starks was tabbed Men’s Diver of the Year and Heather Bounds and Melanie Rinaldi garnered Women’s Co-Diver of the Year honors, it was announced Tuesday. The awards were determined by a vote of the league’s head coaches. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
Starks, a junior, earned First Team All-America honors on the one-meter springboard after finishing fourth in the event at the NCAA Championships last weekend. Starks won the event at the ACC Championships in February, and was second on the three-meter board. He was also the ACC Champion on the 10-meter platform. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native single-handedly powered the Hurricanes to a 32nd-place finish at the NCAA Championships, accounting for 15 points.
Starks was a First-Team All-American in the platform dive and earned Honorable Mention on the one-meter in 2005, and is the second straight Miami diver to win the award with Miguel Velazquez earning the honor in 2005.
Bounds, a junior, and Rinaldi, a senior, share Diver of the Year honors after posting several impressive late-season performances.
Bounds earned Honorable Mention All-America status on both the 10-meter platform and the three-meter springboards at the NCAA Championships earlier this month, as she took 10th in the platform and 12th in the three-meter to help the Hurricanes to a 30th-place finish. The Austin, Texas, native also took first in the platform at the ACC Championships in February.
Rinaldi was also named an Honorable Mention All-American after turning in a 16th-place showing on the one-meter and coming in 14th on the three-meter at the NCAA Championships. The Montreal, Quebec, Canada, native was named the ACC Championship’s Most Valuable Diver after taking gold on the one-meter and silver on the three-meter. Miami has won the Diver of the Year award in each of its two seasons since joining the ACC, with Jenna Dreyer taking the honor in 2005.
