March 11, 2005

College Station, Texas - University of Missouri junior diver Evan Watters finished 2nd in the men's 1-meter competition today at the NCAA Zone Diving Regional Championships, and advanced to the NCAA Championships, to be held March 24-26 in Minneapolis, Minn.

Watters turned in a score of 576.65 in today's meet, and he advanced to the NCAA Championships automatically due to his 2nd-place finish, as the top-two advanced on. Watters, a native of San Antonio, Texas, is the first Mizzou diver to qualify for the NCAA Championships since Denise Buchheister did so for the MU women in 1982.

"Evan was outstanding today, and I'm so excited for him," said interim diving coach Jamie Sweeney. "This wasn't a day where he was on fire exactly, it was a battle the whole way for him. He was struggling out there at times, and didn't always feel good on the board, but he stuck with it and found a way to make things happen and he got it done," said Sweeney, who is a former MU diver himself (2000-03).

Watters led the way for four Mizzou divers today. Other Tigers competing included Jeff Wolfert, who finished 6th (529.55), Aaron Wionzek, who took 8th (513.05) and David Boyko, who was 11th overall (478.55).