June 12, 2003

COLUMBIA, Mo. - This past weekend Missouri divers Aaron Wionzek and Evan Waters competed at the National level in their respective home countries.

Freshman Aaron Wionzek (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) competed in the Canadian Senior Nationals and finished sixth in the one-meter springboard. Wionzek could participate in only the one-meter due to a severe sprain in his wrist caused by hitting the board. "I was happy to see Aaron step up in his event and compete at an exceptionally high level with those guys," said Missouri Head Diving Coach Greg Triefenbach. "A lot of his dives were the best I've seen him do." Coach Triefenbach added that Wionzek's remaining three years look bright due to his performance as a freshman.

In the same weekend, fellow freshman Evan Watters (San Antonio, Texas) competed in Dallas at the Senior U.S. National Zone Meet. On the second day of competition, Watters finished runner-up in the one-meter springboard event and qualified for the Senior National meet to be held later this month in Indianapolis. On the first day, Watters also finished runner-up in the three-meter event; however, he failed to qualify for Nationals. "It sounded like Evan may have had a slow start, but he really picked it up on the second day," said coach Triefenbach. "This is the first time qualifying for this event, and he being considered one of the best divers in the country will do wonders for his confidence." Triefenbach went on to add that he felt good about both of his divers' weekend performances and has high confidence on the year to come.