Three UH Divers Earn All-America Honors on Platform at NCAA Championship

COLUMBUS, OHIO (Mrach 23, 2008) Three University of Houston divers capped their 2007-08 season in impressive style by earning All-America honors on the platform during the final day of the NCAA Championships on Saturday at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion on the campus of Ohio State.

Freshman Lacey Truelove, competing in her first NCAA Championship, earned the best finish by any Cougar at the 2008 meet, finishing sixth on the platform with 272.35 points during the finals. It was the first All-America honor for the London, Ontario, native, who recorded 304.95 points during the preliminaries earlier in the day.

Senior captain Ginni van Katwijk won the consolation finals with 296.20 points, while freshman Courtney Forcucci finished 15th with 224.40 points.It was the second All-America honor at the 2008 NCAA Championship for van Katwijk, who finished 10th on the 3-meter springboard on Friday.

Competing in her first NCAA Championship, Forcucci collected the first All-America honor of her career.With their performance on Saturday alone, the Cougar trio earned 24 points to help lead Houston to a final team score of 29 points.

The Cougars finished 28th in the overall team standings, the first time during the last eight seasons that UH failed to finish among the Top-25 team leaders at the nation’s top collegiate meet.

van Katwijk collected 252.70 points, while Forcucci posted 226.35 points during the preliminaries earlier in the day.Brittany Viola of Miami (Fla.) won the platform national championship with 362.60 points during the finals.

Arizona won the 2008 team national championship with 484 points, while Auburn finished second with 348 points. The Cougars earned the second most points among Conference USA teams, trailing only SMU, which earned 126 points to finish 11th.

Forcucci earned her place at the NCAA Championship after finishing second on the 1-meter springboard during the three-day meet's first day. van Katwijk and Truelove qualified the next day after finishing 1-2, respectively, on the 3-meter board.

Truelove added to her impressive resume during her first collegiate season by winning the platform title at the NCAA Zone D meet on Sunday.While Truelove and Forcucci will compete in their first NCAA Championship, the event is nothing new for diving head coach Jane Figueiredo. During her illustrious 18-year career at UH, Figueiredo now has led 26 divers to the NCAA Championship.

Adding her divers’ 2008 performances to her resume, Figueiredo has mentored 13 divers to 39 All-America honors.This marked the eighth consecutive year that at least one UH diver competed at the NCAA Championship, and it was the fifth straight season that the Cougars sent multiple divers to the Championship.

van Katwijk Leads UH Divers on 3-Meter Board at NCAA Championship

COLUMBUS, OHIO (March 22, 2008) University of Houston senior captain Ginni van Katwijk scored 313.90 points to finish 12th on the 3-meter springboard to lead the Cougars during the second day of the 2008 NCAA Championships on Friday at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion on the campus of Ohio State.

The Grootebroek, Netherlands, native qualified for the finals after scoring 311.00 points to ranks 10th. van Katwijk saved her best performance for last, scoring 54.60 points on her final dive to qualify for the finals.

Later in the day, she recorded 313.65 points in the consolation finals for her final standing. With that performance, van Katwijk earned All-America honors at the NCAA Championship for the second straight season. In 2007, she finished second in the consolation finals on the platform for her first All-America award.

In addition, van Katwijk earned five points for the Cougars in the overall team standings. Houston has finished among the Top-25 leaders at the NCAA Championship for seven consecutive seasons entering the 2008 meet.

Ohio State's Chelsea Davis won the 3-meter national championship with 365.85 points in the finals. Teammate Bianca Alvarez finished second with 354.50 points.

Arizona leads the team standings with 361 points heading into the final day. Auburn is second with 244 points, while Texas A&M is third with 227 points.

Freshmen Lacey Truelove and Courtney Forcucci also are competing in their first NCAA Championship meets and competed on Friday. Truelove placed 19th in the preliminaries with 284.20 points, while Forcucci scored 247.10 points to finish 36th.

The Cougars wrap up their stay Saturday, beginning with the platform trials at 12:30 p.m. (CDT). The platform consolation finals are slated to begin at 2:15 p.m. (CDT) with the swimming and diving finals starting at 6 p.m. (CDT).

Forcucci earned her place at the NCAA Championship after finishing second on the 1-meter springboard during the three-day meet's first day. van Katwijk and Truelove qualified the next day after finishing 1-2, respectively, on the 3-meter board.

Truelove added to her impressive resume during her first collegiate season by winning the platform title at the NCAA Zone D meet on Sunday.

While Truelove and Forcucci will compete in their first NCAA Championship, the event is nothing new for diving head coach Jane Figueiredo. During her illustrious 18-year career at UH, Figueiredo now has led 26 divers to the NCAA Championship.

Adding van Katwijk's performance Friday to her resume, Figueiredo also has mentored 11 divers to 36 All-America honors.

This marks the eighth consecutive year that at least one UH diver has competed at the NCAA Championship and it will be the fifth straight season that the Cougars have sent multiple divers to the nation's top collegiate meet.

Houston Divers Compete in 1-Meter at NCAA Championship

COLUMBUS, OHIO (March 20, 2008) – Three University of Houston divers competed in the women’s 1-meter event Thursday at the 2008 NCAA Championship at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion on the campus of Ohio State.

Senior captain Ginni van Katwijk placed 18th with 263.15 points, while freshman Courtney Forcucci finished 21st with 260.15 points. Freshman Lacey Truelove placed 38th with 224.65 points.

The divers will compete on the 3-meter springboard, beginning with trials at 12:30 p.m. (CDT) Friday. The consolation finals for places nine through 16 will begin at 2:30 p.m. (CDT) with the swimming and diving finals scheduled to start at 6 p.m. (CDT).

This is the second-career appearance for van Katwijk at the NCAA Championship. In 2007, she placed second in the consolation finals and earned All-America honors on the platform.

This marks the first NCAA Championship appearance for both Forcucci and Truelove.

During head coach Jane Figueiredo’s 18-year career at UH, she has led 26 divers to the NCAA Championship, including 10 divers who earned 35 All-America honors.

Figueiredo was honored Conference USA Diving Coach of the Year for the seventh-straight year earlier this season.