March 2, 2007

Contact: Josh Rattray

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - For the first time in 32 years, Cleveland State will have a diver compete at the NCAA Championships as senior Chris Dalman placed third in the one-meter dive at the Zone C Diving Championships at the University of Michigan on Friday (March 2) to earn a berth in the national tournament.

Dalman, who was named Horizon League Diver of the Year after winning both diving events last week at the league championships, scored a 323.25 over six dives in the preliminary round and then added a score of 319.70 in the finals, totaling 642.95 points. The only two divers ahead of him were Kellen Harkness (645.80) and Hugh Showe (644.50) from Ohio State.

"Chris competed extremely well against some of the best divers in the nation," diving coach Rich Karban said. "He had a solid meet, and what's amazing is that he can do even better than that."

The last CSU divers to qualify for the NCAA Championships were Ron Barrick and Jim Fedor in 1975.

The only other competitor representing the Horizon League, UW-Green Bay's Phillip Zumstein, placed 12^th at 561.85.

Dalman will continue his postseason run with the three-meter dive on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at Michigan. The Zone C Championships will run through the weekend and the NCAA Championships are set for March 15-17 at the University of Minnesota.