AUBURN, Ala. — Sophomore Jessica Wantz placed fourth in the finials of the 3-meter diving competing on Friday as the LSU Lady Tigers completed the second day of action at the 2003 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships.
Wantz, making her debut at the NCAA’s, scored a 532.45 in the finials, earning her All- America honors for the first time in her career. Houston senior Yulia Pakaklina won the event with a score of 657.30. Senior All-American Barb Gorst finished 37th in the Preliminaries.
Junior Laura Jo Leininger, also making her NCAA debut, finished 25th in the Prelims of the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 54.41. California Junior Natalie Coughlin won the event with a time of 50.62. Senior Cissy Schepens swam the 100 yard breaststroke in a time of 1’03:94 to place 31st. Stanford’s Tara Kirk broke her own NCAA record by winning the event with time of 58.62. Kirk swam a 59.03 in 2002.
“I am very happy for Jessica (Wantz) because this is her first trip to the NCAA Championships and to finish in the top five is outstanding,” said LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer. “Jessica (Wantz) missed the entire second half of last season so this is quite an accomplishment for her.”
The championships conclude on Saturday with seven events. Preliminaries begin at 11 a.m. and the finials start at 7 p.m..Junior All-American Stephanie Smith will compete in the 1650-yard freestyle. Gorst will compete in the 10-meter platform diving competition, Leininger, in the 200-yard butterfly, and Schepens will swim in the 200-yard breaststroke.