Indiana's Chapman leads group of three Hoosiers to platform finals

Purdue advances three, Minnesota sends two more to final competition

Chapman secured a No. 1 seed for the finals.

Chapman secured a No. 1 seed for the finals.

Feb. 18, 2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Indiana divers made it clear that the the 2006 Big Ten Women's Swimming and Diving Championships will not only be decided between Penn State and Michigan in the lanes. The Hoosiers advanced three divers to the platform diving championship finals Saturday, claiming first and second places. Currently sitting in fourth place in the team standings, Indiana's platform results could weigh heavily in how this meet turns out. Indiana commanded representation in the finals along with Purdue and Minnesota.

After a five-round prelim competition in the platform diving competition, eight divers earned spots in the event finals Friday evening while the top 16 earn points for their teams' standings.

The Hoosiers Heather Chapman laced together a five-dive performance to edge teammate Lindsay Weigle for first place with a score of 301.35. Chapman's last dive, a reverse 2 1/2 somersault tuck with a 2.7 degree of difficulty, garnered a "9" rating from one judge to total of 67.50. That score proved to be enough to seal the lead.

Weigle finished second with a score of 300.75, beating out Purdue's Amanda Miller for second  place by the narrow margin of .25. Weigle, last year's third-place diver, scored a 300.75 while Miller tallied a 300.50 for third. Miller moved into third with a strong fifth-round dive that earned her a 76.50 - tying the highest single dive score of the prelims. Another Boilermaker diver, Carrie McCambridge, finished right behind Miller with 297.35 for fourth.
 
Indiana's Christina Loukas picked up the one-meter spring board title on Thursday but failed to qualify for the three-meter diving finals Friday. She rebounded from the setback to finish fifth in the platform prelim with a score of 293.80. Minnesota placed two in the finals in sixth-place finisher Holly Jakitis (253.00) and seventh-place diver Erica Schiffler (239.00). Purdue's Emily Wetzel finished seventh, notching 247.00 to give the Boilermakers three finalists.

In addition to the finalists, Purdue and Indiana also had two more divers each score in the top 16 while Minnesota counted one more scoring diver. Michigan counted two scoring divers, and Wisconsin had one diver garner points.

Tonight's diving finals begin at approximately 8:30 ET.  Check back to BigTen.org for live results and continuing coverage of the 2005 Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.