ATHENS, Ga. — LSU’s seven-time All-American and defending national champion, Ashley Culpepper, proved her dominance in the 3-meter springboard diving event on Friday, as she claimed first place at the NCAA Zone B Championships in Athens, Ga.
“Ashley was almost perfect out there today,” said LSU head diving coach Scott Reich. “She seemed to be hitting every one of her dives and she definitely deserved to win the competition. I’m also extremely proud Jamie (Watkins), Barb (Gorst), Corey (Fox) and Erik (Petursson) for turning in outstanding performances as well.”
Culpepper’s final score of 529.00 was good enough to beat out Miami’s Jenny Keim for the first-place position. Keim, who barely beat out Culpepper for a spot on the United States’ 2000 Olympic team, fell short on Friday with a total score of 528.85.
The NCAA Zone B Championship title marks the second of Culpepper’s illustrious career. In 1998, Culpepper won the 3-meter competition as a freshman. Last season, Culpepper placed second in the event.
On Friday, the Lady Tigers’ Culpepper and Jaime Watkins automatically qualified for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Nassau County, N.Y.
Watkins, the 2001 SEC Diver of the Year and defending national champion in the 1-meter springboard event, placed fourth in the 3-meter competition with a score of 517.90. The top-five finishers in each event of the Zone B Championships automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships.
The Lady Tigers had five divers place among the top 16 in Friday’s 3-meter competition. Barb Gorst, LSU’s junior from Calgary, Canada, also recorded a top-10 finish by earning ninth-place. Lady Tiger sophomore’s Michelle Coryell and Holly Winters finished 13th and 16th in the event, respectively.
“The women divers just did an outstanding job today,” Reich stated. “They are all very talented, and they showed it out there. The men also performed well, even though the 1-meter isn’t really their specialty, I was proud of them. Hopefully, we can duplicated this amount of success in tomorrow’s events.”
In the men’s 1-meter competition, LSU seniors Corey Fox and Erik Petursson ended in the 10th and 11th-place positions, respectively. Georgia’s Jud Campbell won the event with 351.10 total points, while Fox finished with 300.35 and Petursson compiled a final score of 292.80. The Tigers’ sophomore, Kyle VanArsdall, ended up in 17th place with 273.80 points.
The 2001 NCAA Zone B Diving Championships will resume on Saturday with the men’s 3-meter competition, women’s 1-meter event, and both of the platform competitions here at the Gabrielson Natatorium in Athens, Ga.