Aug. 12, 2009

Purdue senior diver Ashley Karnes finished fourth in the 1-meter competition Wednesday at the AT&T National Diving Championships in Tallahassee, Fla.

“Ashley endured yet another challenging day,” head coach Adam Soldati said. “She put together some great performances, and we are very proud of Ashley. With a bit more training, she has the ability to stand on the top of the awards stand.”

Karnes, the defending Big Ten champion on the 1-meter, scored 270.85 points in the final. The Bloomington, Ind., native began her day with an eighth-place finish in the preliminary round after putting together a five-dive list that yielded 243.25 points. Karnes wrapped up her summer competition, which included a bronze medal at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia, last month, by scoring in her third consecutive meet.

Purdue also earned spots in each men’s synchronized final by advancing through Tuesday’s preliminary round. Junior David Colturi and teammate Sean Moore, a junior at Ohio State, finished with the second-highest qualifying score in the synchronized 3-meter competition. The duo scored 368.13 points to advance to the final, which is scheduled for Saturday.

Junior J.P. Perez and freshman Jimmy Page moved into the final of the synchronized platform competition with their third-place finish. The partners, who scored 283.62 points in the synchronized 3-meter preliminary round, put 282.93 points on the board off the platform to advance to Sunday’s final. Kyle Mitrione, a senior from Haddonfield, N.J., scored 210.70 points in Wednesday’s 3-meter preliminary competition.

Sophomore Casey Matthews makes her debut at the championships Thursday as she takes on a field of 31 other divers in the preliminary round of the 3-meter. Thursday’s schedule also features Colturi and Mitrione in the 1-meter preliminary round.

The AT&T National Diving Championships continue through Sunday from the Morcom Aquatics Center on the campus of Florida State University. Live results can be found throughout the championships at purduesports.com.

Purdue Boilermakers