March 13, 2000

The University of Missouri sent its largest contingent of divers in recent memory to the 2000 NCAA Zone D Diving Championships held in College Station, Texas over the weekend. None of MU's competitors qualified for the NCAA Championships, but all three divers, James Sweeney, Kristy Wanner and Erin Wilke, turned in at least one top-10 performance.

The lone qualifier on the men's side was James Sweeney who dove in all three competitions: one-meter, three-meter and platform. The freshman's highest finish of the weekend was his seventh place performance on the platform. The score of 375.70 was less that one point off his career-best performance. Sweeney also placed 14th on the one-meter (397.00) and 17th on the three-meter with a total score of 414.35.

For the women, Kristy Wanner and Erin Wilke both competed at the meet. Wanner, a junior who joined the team following the holiday break, competed in both the one-meter and three-meter events. She turned in a ninth place finish on the one-meter with a score of 357.90 while placing 14th on the three-meter (422.25). Wilke concluded her outstanding sophomore campaign with a 9th place finish on the platform with a score of 353.50. Her score of 313.45 on the three-meter was good enough for 16th place overall.

Missouri divers have now concluded their season following outstanding campaign's by all three. Fellow divers Jason Otte and Kelly Pozzoli also had great season's despite the fact they did not qualify for the Zone meet.

The final meet of the season for the Tigers is this weekend in Indianapolis, Ind. As freshman Leslie Hoh will be competing in the NCAA Championships. The meet starts on Thursday, March 16 and continues through Saturday, March 18. Hoh will be competing on Thursday in the 200 IM and Friday in the 100 breast and 400 IM.