Boudia, Brennan Win Diving Titles; U.S. Elite Diving Academy Wins Combined Team Title

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 6 DAVID Boudia and Allison Brennan closed out the Kaiser Permanente National Diving Championships with individual national titles in men's 10-meter and women's three-meter on Saturday. Boudia also added a national championship with Thomas Finchum in men's 10-meter synchro, with Abby Johnston and Mary Yarrison taking the women's three-meter synchro national title.

Brennan won her first national title with 333.25 points, saving her best dive for last. She held a slim 1.75-point lead heading into the final round, when she received four 9.0s and one 9.5 on her inward two-and-a-half. Christina Loukas won the silver with 321.60 points, and Margaret Hostage finished with 296.65 points for bronze.

Boudia, who missed out on individual gold by 1.20 points at last year's championships, scored 472.20 points for his first individual national title. Finchum, the 2005 champion, scored 436.20 points for silver, and Daniel Mazzaferro won bronze 426.60. Boudia and Finchum were tied after the second round, but Boudia pulled away after the third round. Mazzaferro moved from fifth place to second after the fourth round, when he scored 81.60 points on his inward three-and-a-half, but Finchum regained the second spot after five rounds.

Boudia and Finchum won their second consecutive synchro national title with 418.86 points, beating out Drew Livingston and Harrison Jones, who finished with 355.59 points for second.

Yarrison and Johnston upset 2006 World Cup silver medalists Kelci Bryant and Ariel Rittenhouse for the three-meter synchro title. Yarrison and Johnston finished with 275.76 points, with Bryant and Rittenhouse scoring 269.10 points for silver. Amanda Blong and Sara Clark finished third with 240.90 points.

Overall, U.S. Elite Diving Academy won the combined team title with 179 points based on a dominant effort of 139 points from the men's side. Meanwhile, Indiana University won a shootout for the women's crown with 79 points against Montgomery Dive Club's 72 points.

On the men's side, Boudia claimed the individual high point award with 58.5 points just ahead of Chris Colwill's second-place 58 points. Two-time Big Ten Diver of the Year and of the Championships Christina Loukas took home the women's high-pointer honor with 48 points.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use