University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
NCAA Championships
Pozdniakova Finishes as National Runner-Up on 3-Meter Springboard
3/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
March 9, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - University of Houston Anastasia Pozdniakova scored 407.10 points in the finals of the 3-meter springboard diving to finish second during the second day of the 2007 NCAA Championships at the University Aquatic Center.
Pozdniakova, who captured fifth place on the 1-meter springboard Thursday, was one of only two divers to crack 400 points in the event. Stanford's Cassidy Krug won her second straight NCAA national championship, scoring 420.90 points.
The Elektrostal, Russia, native enjoyed a strong showing in the preliminaries earlier in the day, scoring 352.55 points to finish third and earn her place in the finals Friday evening.
Junior Ginni van Katwijk scored 245.20 points in the preliminaries to finish in 35th overall.
With that performance, Pozdniakova earned 17 points for the Cougars, who stood in 18th place in the team standings after the second day. UH has finished among the Top 25 team leaders in points at the NCAA Championships for six consecutive years entering the 2007 meet.
Arizona led the team standings with 375 points, while Auburn was second with 343 points.
The meet wraps up Saturday with the platform competition. Swimming preliminaries are scheduled to start at 11 a.m. with the diving preliminaries slated to start at 1 p.m. The finals start at 7 p.m.
van Katwijk joins 23 other divers during the platform competition Saturday.
Both divers made their first appearances at the NCAA Championships following impressive performances at the NCAA Zone D meet in Austin last weekend. Pozdniakova captured the titles on both the 1- and 3-meter springboards, while van Katwijk finished third on the 3-meter board to earn her place.
Pozdniakova led the Cougar divers after winning both the 1- and 3-meter springboard events during the recent C-USA Championship at UH's own Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium on Feb. 14-17.
A four-time C-USA Diver of the Week recipient in 2006-07, the Elektrostal, Russia, native was recognized for her impressive performances as the C-USA Diver of the Meet.
van Katwijk was the newest member of the Cougar diving corps in 2006-07 after transferring from Wyoming. However, the Grootebroek, Netherlands, native made an immediate impact during her first season and joined Pozdniakova as the only divers to finish among the Top Three individual leaders in all three diving events at the C-USA Championship.
The Cougar divers are under the leadership of Jane Figueiredo, who recently was named the C-USA Diving Coach of the Year for the sixth consecutive season. Now in her 17th season as the diving head coach, Figueiredo has led 23 divers to the NCAA Championships.
Players Mentioned
