Cougars Complete Near-Sweep at NCAA Qualifying Meet

FEDERAL WAY -- A day after winning both the women's 1M and men's 3M events, BYU's divers came back Saturday to win the women's 3M and finish second in the men's 1M in the final day of the Zone E NCAA Qualifying Meet.

Rachelle Smith Kunkel continued her domination of the past year, completing a sweep on the women's 1M and 3M boards to

automatically qualify for both events in next week's NCAA Championships. Kunkel also swept both boards at this year's

Mountain West Conference Championships and heads into nationals as the reigning U.S. Summer National Champion on the

1M board. Kunkel's score of 454.40 on the 1M also broke the BYU record set by national champion Vanessa Thelin in 1993.

The Cougar men were equally successful. Following freshman Aaron Russell's win on the 3M board to qualify for NCAA's, senior

Devan Porter put together second- and third-place finishes on the 1M and 3M boards to qualify as well. The Cougars placed a

total of three divers in the top ten on the 1M and four on the 3M, better than any other school.

The women's NCAA Championships will be held in Indianapolis next weekend, while the men travel the following weekend to

Minneapolis.