March 25, 2006

ATLANTA - University of Missouri senior diver Evan Watters (San Antonio, Texas / MacArthur HS) finished in 13th place in the prelims of the men's 10-meter platform diving at the NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving Championships, held Saturday afternoon at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Center.

It is the second All-America honor of the event for Watters, who on Thursday became the first Mizzou men's diver to earn All-America honors with a 12th-place showing on the 1-meter board. The showing wraps up a tremendous weekend for Watters, who was the first Mizzou male diver to qualify for the NCAA Championships last year.

"Evan did much better today. He stumbled a little bit on his back 2-1/2, but his other five dives he did pretty well," said Head Diving Coach Jamie Sweeney. "To think about the fact that last year he was the first guy ever to make the NCAA Championships in diving, and now he has scored points on two boards, is amazing."

In Saturday's competiton, Watters opened with three solid dives, averaging 6.0's and 6.5's on a back 2-1/2 somersault with a half-twist; 5.5's and 6.0's on an armstand double back with a half-twist; and 5.0's on an inward 2-1/2. On his fourth and second-toughest dive - a forward 3-1/2 - Watters averaged 6.5's and 7.0's to move into the top six.

Watters fell back after averaging 3.0's on a back 2-1/2, yet rebounded with scores of 5.5 and 6.0 on a reverse 2-1/2.

"Evan's definitely the best diver to ever come to Mizzou. You can't ask for much more than that," Sweeney added. "He survived the changeover to a new coaching staff, and the adjustment to a new facility. It's a shame that he's a senior and that we don't have him coming back next year, but that's the way it works. He's definitely going to be missed."