University of Tennessee Athletics
SANGER PLACES SECOND ON 1M SPRINGBOARD AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 20, 2003 | Women's Swimming & Diving
March 20, 2003
AUBURN, Ala.
Lady Vol senior Jaime Sanger got off to a strong start at the NCAA Championships on Thursday, placing second on the one-meter springboard, while teammate Lauryn McCalley captured fifth place.
Sanger, a native of Plymouth, Minn., recorded a career-best score of 329.90, to edge out defending champion Blythe Hartley of Southern California who scored 329.70. Houston's Yulia Pakhalina, a 2000 Olympic gold medallist, won the event with a total of 339.70.
"Jaime did an excellent job of chasing and competing with Yulia Pakhalina, one of the best divers in the world, right down to the wire tonight," UT Diving Coach Dave Parrington said. "We were very excited to have two divers qualify for the finals and place in the top five."
The career-best score allowed Sanger to break her own school record, as she now holds the top six 1m scores ever recorded by a Lady Vol. The performance marks the highest NCAA finish for Tennessee since Lizzy Flynt placed second on the platform in 2000, and improves upon Sanger's previous best of third on the 1m at the 2001 NCAAs. The runner-up finish also helps solidify Sanger's status as the most dominant 1m springboard performer in Tennessee history, giving her a pair of top-three finishes at NCAAs to go along with her three-consecutive SEC titles in the event.
McCalley a sophomore from Moultrie, Ga., recorded a score of 311.70, far surpassing her previous career-best of 288.00. The performance ranks McCalley second in UT history on the 1m, and betters her previous high finish of seventh at the 2002 NCAA Championships. Tennessee junior Kylee Wells (Russiaville, Ind.) placed 32nd on the 1m with a score of 228.25.
Thanks to the scoring efforts of Sanger and McCalley, who both earned their third career All-America honors on Thursday, Tennessee sits in 15th place after day one of the NCAAs with 31 points. Auburn, the defending national champion, occupies first place with 168.5 points.
The NCAA Championships continue on Friday as freshman Jacque Fessel competes in the 100y back and Sanger, McCalley and Wells hit the boards again to compete on the 3m. The meet will conclude on Saturday, when Fessel swims the 200y back, freshman Noelle Bassi hits the pool for the 200y fly and Wells competes in her best event, the platform.
