March 22, 2006

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Senior diver Evan Watters will begin competition tomorrow afternoon at the NCAA National Championship Meet in Atlanta - a meet that closes out the most storied diving career in Mizzou history. This is the second consecutive year in which Watters has qualified for college swimming's ultimate meet.

"Making NCAA's was the hard part and he got that done," Mizzou diving coach James Sweeney said. "There's nothing to lose now that we're here. If he can convince himself that there is no reason to hold back and be cautious, then the sky is the limit on how well Evan performs."

Watters, the school record holder on 1 and 3-meter boards, placed in the top 25 on all three boards at last year's NCAA Nationals. He earned an automatic NCAA berth at the Zone D meet this season with a runner-up finish on the 1-meter board, but ended up entering the meet in one of the 3-meter slots because of the way in which the zone selections worked out.

By qualifying for NCAA Nationals on one board and competing in all three events at the Zone meet, Watters has earned the right to compete on all three boards at the national meet. The 1-meter competition will be held on Thursday, the 3-meter event on Friday and the men will take to the tower on Saturday. Prelims start at 12:30 p.m. CT each day, with finals commencing at 6 p.m. CT.

The meet is being hosted by Georgia Tech at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Center. For more information, including live scoring and ticket information, please visit www.ramblinwreck.com or www.ncaasports.com.