March 20, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Missouri senior Kendra Melnychuk has guaranteed herself the highest finish by any Tiger diver in NCAA Championship history, as she is locked into the top-eight of the 3-meter competition.
Melnychuk posted a preliminary score of 326.70, her highest total on the 3-meter springboard this season, to put her in sixth-place. The top-eight finishers in the preliminary round advance to the finals round this evening. The Canadian's guaranteed top-eight finish also assures her of her third-career All-America honors. She earned All-American awards at last year's NCAA's after finishing in 10th on the platform and 11th on the 3-meter.
Melnychuk opened up the preliminary round by posting scores of 54.00 in the first three rounds, followed by a 54.60 in the fourth round. In round five, she scored a 51.30, her lowest of the preliminaries. The senior captain would bounce back though, scoring a round-high 58.80 on her last dive, a Back 1 1/2 Somersault 2 1/2 Twist Free.
Melnychuk and the team's 800 free relay squad will be in action during the finals this evening. Check back to mutigers.com later tonight for a complete wrap-up of today's competition.