College Diving
Rider's Burke at USA Nationals
13th on 3-meter / 17th on 1-meter
MINNEAPOLIS, MN?Rider University junior diver Amanda Burke (Churchville, Pa./William Tennent) competed Monday at the 2008 Speedo USA Spring Nationals held at the University of Minnesota. “Amanda was just a few points out of being in the top eight on both boards," said head coach Dennis Ceppa. "She was right in the thick of the competition.”
On the three-meter, Burke finished 13th with a score of 222.45 and on the one-meter Burke placed 17th.
“Out of 50 competitors, Amanda placed 13th,” said Ceppa. “The top 11 went to semi-finals. She did very well against some very tough competition. She was actually in fifth place through the fourth round and that performance is very respectable for this size meet. This was a great experience for her.”
Burke's one-meter finish qualified her for the semi-final round.
“I felt like I improved as the competition got stronger,” said Burke. “I'm trying to show by my performance how strong a swimming and diving team we have at Rider.”
“On one-meter, her first dive wasn't up to par but she battled back and finished strong,” said Ceppa. “She held her own.”
Burke placed 35th on the three-meter and 39th on the one-meter at NCAA's in March and was the first Rider swimmer or diver to qualify for NCAA's.
“There wasn't really a lot of pressure,” Burke added. “I was more focused than at NCAA's and I am getting used to competing on this level.”
“Amanda spent the whole meet telling people where Rider was,” said Ceppa. “After seeing her dive, I think she put us on the map nationally. She is a great ambassador for the program and her efforts will make Rider stronger in years to come on a recruiting level and the national level. She not only competed but she did extremely well. She takes what she is doing very seriously.”
Burke was the one and three-meter champion at both the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference meet and the Eastern College Athletic Conference championships, winning diver of the meet at both.
“I never thought that I would achieve this level in my diving career,” Burke said. “It feels good. I feel that if I am going to do something, I should do it to the best of my abilities and I think that's what happened this year.”
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