Divers fare well in tournament

Current and past IU divers participated this weekend in the Speedo National Diving Championships held at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis. Seven Hoosiers participated in the event, which took place from Tuesday to Sunday. \nCurrent Hoosiers junior Cassandra Cardinell, junior Marc Carlton, sophomore Ryan Fagan and freshman Brian Mariano competed alongside former IU divers Tom Davidson, Sara Hildebrand and Kimiko Hirai Soldati.\nHildebrand, who competed in the 10-meter platform event at the 2000 Olympics, fared well at the National Championships in four events. The former Olympian, who completed her tenure at IU after the 2003 season, competed in the platform, 1-meter dive, 3-meter dive and synchronized platform and synchronized 3-meter diving events.\nThis weekend also marked a milestone in Hildebrand's career as she and IU diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber were inducted into the IU Natatorium Wall of Fame in conjunction with the National Championships. During her career at IU, Hildebrand was a 10-time NCAA All-American selection and the Big Ten champion on the 1-meter, 3-meter, and 10-meter platform during her senior season. She was also named as the Big Ten Diver of the Year in 2003.\nHuber's accomplishments also qualified him for the Wall of Fame as he has coached two NCAA champions, 28 All-Americans, 10 U.S. National Champions, 21 Big Ten Champions and nine Big Ten Divers of the Year and co-Diver of the Championships for the men's swimming and diving team.\nAt the Speedo National Championships, Hildebrand won the 3-meter springboard with a 508.65 score, finished second with a 461.70 score in the platform event and failed to make the finals in the 1-meter dive. \nHildebrand also made quite a "splash" with Cardinell as they swept all of the synchronized events. The duo won the synchonized 10-meter platform and synchronized 3-meter event with final scores of 304.23 and 292.56, respectively. \nAs a result of this weekend's efforts, Hildebrand earned a berth on the 2003 National Team and Pan American Games Team. She will also represent the U.S. on the board at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona.\nHildebrand and Cardinell weren't the only Hoosiers who made an impact in the synchronized events. Carlton and Mariano finished second in the synchronized 3-meter with a score of 291.99.