INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — LSU junior diver Ashley Culpepper won the NCAA Championship title Friday in the 3-meter diving event here at the Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Indianapolis, Ind.
Culpepper’s championship performance came only one day after her teammate Jamie Watkins became the first Lady Tiger to win an NCAA title in six years. Watkins won the 1-meter springboard diving event Thursday while Culpepper finished third in the competition.
“This has been an unbelievable weekend for our divers,” said LSU head coach Rick Meador. “Each of them have won an NCAA Championship already and they still have one more event remaining. I am really happy for both Ashley and Jamie.”
Culpepper won the 3-meter title in dominant fashion late Friday evening. She outscored the second-place finisher by over 13 points. Culpepper’s winning score was 538.25, while Indiana’s Sara Reiling placed second with 525.10 points from the board.
Culpepper broke her own LSU record in the event by finishing with the all-time Lady Tiger high of 538.25. Culpepper’s previous record score in the 3-meter event was 536.20. LSU’s Watkins took tenth place in the competition.
After the second day of the NCAA Championships the Lady Tigers remained among the top schools in the nation by finishing in 16th-place. LSU has scored 63 total team points in this year’s competition. Last season the Lady Tigers finished the entire weekend with 23 total team points and the 26th-place ranking.
The Women’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships will continue Saturday with preliminaries at 10 a.m. Finals will then follow at approximately 7 p.m.