University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
NCAA Championships
Divers Begin Competition at NCAA Championships
3/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
March 17, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Two University of Houston divers began their stay at the 2005 NCAA Championships on Thursday by competing on the 1-meter springboard at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center on the campus of Purdue University.
Sophomore Anna Kiess finished 19th with 260.75 points, while sophomore Rachel Gitelson earned 199.20 points to finish 38th. Junior captain Azul Almazan did not compete in Friday's event.
Hawai'i's Qiong Jie Huan won the championship with 327.00 points to finish less then three points ahead of USC's Blythe Hartley.
All three Cougar divers will compete on the 3-meter springboard Saturday. The preliminaries are slated to start at 11 a.m., while the finals will begin around 7 p.m.
Almazan, Kiess and Gitelson are the 17th, 18th and 19th Cougar divers during the last 15 seasons to compete at the nation's top collegiate meet. Almazan won the 3-meter competition and Gitelson claimed top honors on the platform at last weekend's Zone D Diving Championships to earn their place at the NCAA Championships.
Although she did not win any individual events at the Zone meet, Kiess established herself as one of the most consistent performers at that meet by finishing among the Top Three individual leaders on both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard.
Players Mentioned
