March 14, 2008
Contact: Gene Natale, Jr.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Dan Baiko fell short in his bid to qualify for the NCAA Championship in the three-meter dive at the NCAA Zone Diving competition, held at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion at Ohio State in Columbus on Friday afternoon.
The senior posted a six-dive score of 239.50 in the preliminary round for a 30th place overall finish.
"Dan just didnt have a great contest," diving coach Rich Karban said, "It wasnt like he dove horrible, but he just was a little off today and didn't perform at his best. As a whole it was a tough contest to dive in; there were a lot of people having a tough time today."
Though he fell short on Friday, Baiko will have another opportunity to qualify for the NCAA championship on Saturday in the one-meter dive. If Baiko qualifies for nationals he will be only the second Viking diver to reach nationals since Rob Barrick in 1977.
"I feel better about tommorrow," Karban continued, "Dan has always been a very strong one-meter diver. The reality is, you can do about average and you have a good chance to advance. It's just about getting out there and performing and dealing with the pressure."
The NCAA Zone C Diving competition at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion at Ohio State will continue on Saturday, March 15 with the men's one-meter diving, set to begin at 2:00 p.m. EST.
