Courtesy of GoCobbers.com, Release: March 9

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1-Meter Diving Preliminary Results - Now Online!

1-Meter Diving Finals Results - Now Online!

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Championship Meet Recap

THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2006 - FINALS

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-- The road has come to an end. The dream has been realized. Concordia senior diver Annie Cullen has officially gone from a diving novice to a national champion in the course of two-and-a-half years. Her journey reached the mountaintop when she stuck her last dive in the finals of the 1-meter diving competition at the NCAA Division III Championship Meet and landed on the top spot on the podium.

"I had a pretty good day," downplayed Cullen. "It was nice to be able to win the championship in front of family, friends, coaches and Emily (former diving teammate Emily Hall who was a two-time All-American last year)."

Cullen saved her best for last in the event as her final dive (reverse somersault with two-and-a-half twists) put her over the top and into the record books.

"I saw that the first judges' score was a 7 and knew that I won the championship and that is the last thing I remember," recalled an excited Cullen.

She had entered the last round of dives with a narrow lead after what she called "not a very good effort" in her next-to-last dive.

Her final dive helped her hold off the other competitors and post a final score of 455.20 points. That total was over 15 points better than the runner-up finisher. It also smashed a 19-year-old national record by almost 20 points. Elizabeth Olsen's mark of 438.35 set in 1987 had withstood the test of time until Cullen smashed it on Thursday.

Cullen becomes the first athlete in the history of the Concordia swimming and diving program to win a national championship. She also becomes the first Cobber athlete to win a national championship in any sport since Renee Erickson won the javelin title at the 1996 NCAA Division III National Outdoor Track and Field Championship Meet.

Cullen becomes the third athlete in the history of the Concordia swimming and diving program to earn All-American honors. She joins fellow diver Emily Hall who finished fifth in the 1-meter competition last year, and swimmer Shana Letness who earned All-American status in the breaststroke in the 1999 and 2001 national meets.

Cullen will have the opportunity to earn a second All-American award when she competes in the 3-meter diving event on Saturday. The first round of the preliminary heat for the 3-meter competition is on Friday with the second round of preliminary dives and the finals being held on Saturday.

1-Meter Final Results

1 Cullen, Annie SR Concordia 455.20!
2 Deur, Erica FR Calvin 439.25!
3 Swett, Kendall SO Lake Forest 437.60
4 Holbrook, Doria SO M.I.T. 435.90
5 Medendorp, Aman SO UW La Crosse 426.55
6 Tudor, Victoria SR Bowdoin 422.35
7 Rezac, Maggie SO Lake Forest 420.45
8 Parton, Lisa SR Emory 393.60

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THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2006 - PRELIMINARIES

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-- Concordia senior diver Annie Cullen backed up her MIAC Diver of the Year honors by winning the NCAA Championship Meet 1-meter preliminaries on Thursday afternoon at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

Cullen posted a score of 435.10 to win the preliminary event by 1.55 points over Aman Medendorp from UW-La Crosse. Cullen's winning total was only 3.26 points away from breaking the NCAA Division III national record for the event which was set back in 1987.

With the victory, Cullen will be seeded first in the finals of the event which will take place on Thursday night. The 1-meter finals will be the fifth event of the finals schedule. The finals will start at 6:30pm with the 200-yard freestyle relay.

Cullen is looking to become the third athlete from Concordia to earn All-American status in swimming and diving. Last year Emily Hall claimed All-American honors in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events. She finished fifth in the 3-meter and 14th in the 1-meter. Shana Letness earned All-American as a swimmer in the breaststroke at the 1999 and 2001 national meets.

1-Meter Preliminary Results

1 Cullen, Annie SR Concordia 435.10
2 Medendorp, Aman SO UW La Crosse 433.55
3 Deur, Erica FR Calvin 431.60
4 Holbrook, Doria SO M.I.T. 429.95
5 Swett, Kendall SO Lake Forest 419.55
6 Rezac, Maggie SO Lake Forest 412.45
7 Tudor, Victoria SR Bowdoin 409.95
8 Parton, Lisa SR Emory 398.80
9 Hanson, Alanna SO Middlebury 395.80
10 McCarthy, Britn JR Hendrix 395.00
11 Sponholz, Kelly FR Fredonia State 384.90
12 Cloyd, Elysha FR Allegheny 378.85
13 White, Erin FR Springfield 377.25
14 Freitas, Shanti SO Smith 375.05
15 Brown, Lindsay JR Albion 374.35
16 Lamdin, Kelsey FR Bates 374.20
17 Srikanth, Priya SO Washington Univ 369.75
18 Griffin, Lauren FR Mount Holoyoke 369.15
19 Freeman, Molly SO Union 368.40
20 Pavia, Julie SR Carnegie Mellon 367.60
21 Swanson, Lee JR Tcnj 363.00
22 Shencavitz, Nao SR Springfield 327.55