Swimming and Diving Athletes Head to NCAA Meet
3/15/1999 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Swimming and Diving Athletes Head to NCAA Meet
3/15/1999
PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh sophomore Steve Siler (Westmont, Ill./Westmont) is headed for the 1999 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships after recording qualifying times in two events.
Siler claimed 1999 Big East individual titles in the 200-yard backstroke and freestyle and will compete in both events at the national championships. His time of 1:45.28 in the 200 back set a school record that was previously held by Matt Brady (1:46.02) from 1994. Siler is currently ranked 15th in the country in the 200 back and 46th in the 200 free. Siler has won a combined three individual conference championships, including two consecutive titles in the 200 back, and has claimed a fourth championship as a member of the 1999 800 free relay team.
The men's national championships will be held March 25-27 at Indiana University in Indianapolis, Ind.
Pittsburgh junior diver Jamie Tomazich (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) has qualified for the 1999 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships while senior Samantha Chabotar (Egg Harbor Twp., Pa./Egg Harbor) has qualified as a first alternate.
Tomazich, a 1997 All-American, won first place on both boards while setting a school record on the three-meter at the Diving Prequals held March 11-13 in Buffalo, N.Y. She recorded scores of 445.2 (six dives) and 526.9 (11 dives), on the one-meter and three-meter respectively, to send her to her second national championship. At this year's Big East Swimming and Diving Championships, Tomazich finished second on the one-meter board with a score of 437.2, which surpassed the previous championship record of 434.10, and was third on the three-meter (482.35).
Chabotar, a 1,650-yard freestyle and 400 individual medley specialist, will be the first swimmer to compete at the national championships in the case that any one of the 280 qualifiers drops out of competition in any event. A senior co-captain, Chabotar finished sixth in the 1,650 at the Big East Championships with a time of 16:52.69.
The NCAA Women's Championships will be held March 18-20 at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga.