Chris Colwill, Haley Ishimatsu Shine at USA Diving Winter Nationals; Troy Dumais Captures 30th Career Title

COLUMBUS, Ohio, February 6. CHRIS Colwill (Brandon, Fla.) and Haley Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.) won national titles Saturday at the USA Diving Winter National Championships, securing their spots on the 2010 FINA World Cup Team.

Kristian Ipsen (Clayton, Calif.) and Amy Korthauer (Naperville, Ill.) also earned spots on the World Cup team with their second-place finishes in individual events.

Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.) captured his 30th career national title at age 30 when he paired with Ipsen for the 3-meter synchro win, and the pair of Amy Cozad (Decatur, Ind.) and Laura Ryan (Elk River, Minn.) won the women's 10-meter synchro title.

Colwill scored 1024.60 points to win the men's 3-meter title, and Ishimatsu won the women's platform title with 721.40 points. Scores were a cumulative total from Thursday's semifinals and Saturday's finals.

Colwill earned 80 or more points on all but one dive in the finals. He scored 95.20 points on his front 2 ½ with 2 twists in the second round and capped off the competition with 92.75 points on his reverse in the 3 ½ in the last round.

"I've been focusing on polishing my form. I know how to do my dives, but I've spent a lot more time on the little things. I knew that had to be done to get to where I want to be," Colwill said. "I had two lists in a row that were solid, and I haven't done that in a couple years."

Ipsen finished second with 992.50 points, with his best dive coming in the final round when he received four 9.5s and a total of 95.20 points on his reverse 1 ½ with 3 ½ twists.

Olympians David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind.) and Dumais were third and fourth, respectively.

Ishimatsu picked up her second individual platform title, finishing ahead of Korthauer (677.35) and Katie Bell (Columbus, Ohio). The 2008 Olympian scaled back her dive list to include a back 3 ½ tuck rather than the difficult back 3 ½ that she had competed the last couple years. She was one of the few women in the world to do the dive, but with a degree of difficulty of 3.6 it often gave her trouble. The tuck carries a 3.3 DD.

"Mentally, it helps a lot. I'm not scared of that dive anymore, and I'm more confident. I know I can do this," Ishimatsu said. "I was also pleased with my inward today. I've been having some problems with that dive."

Korthauer, who was third after Thursday's semifinals, led after the first round when she scored 80 points on her armstand and remained steady throughout the competition to finish second.

"I didn't expect to place this high, but I did expect to hit my dives," Korthauer said. "Most of these divers have been doing 10-meter longer than I've been diving."

Ipsen and Dumais, who won a silver medal in 3-meter synchro at the 2009 World Championships, scored 445.38 for their second national title together and 30th career title for the veteran Dumais.

"It's very special to win 30 national titles, especially at 30 years old. As for (the individual competition), I put myself in a hole in the semifinals, but you can't win everything," Dumais said.

Ryan Helms (Moultrie, Ga.) and Aaron Fleshner (Spring, Texas) were second at 400.26.

Cozad and Ryan scored 291.21 points for their first national title in synchronized 10-meter. Casey Matthews (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Kaylea Arnett (Spring, Texas) took second at 257.22.

The USA Diving Winter National Championships continue through February 8. Sunday's competition features finals in women's 3-meter, men's 10-meter, women's synchronized 3-meter, and men's synchronized 10-meter.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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