Rider's Burke Finishes 11th in 3-meter Final at USA Nationals
MAAC Sports
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. ? Rider University junior diver Amanda Burke (Churchville, Pa./William Tennent) competed Sunday in the finals of the 2009 Speedo USA Spring Nationals, finishing 11th in the three-meter spring board with a five-dive score of 249.05. Burke was 11th in the semi-finals Friday with a score of 252.05. Nine points separated Burke from an eighth place finish. “What I was able to accomplish this past week hasn’t really hit me yet,” Burke said. “I was actually a little disappointed in my effort today. I felt that I could have finished higher.”
“More or less, Amanda did what we wanted her to do in this competition,” said diving coach Dennis Ceppa. “Amanda got to experience the level of perfection that you need to finish at the top of these meets and will be well prepared in the future when she competes again. This was a great experience for her and we are proud of her effort.”
Last Wednesday, Burke was 10th on the one-meter spring board with the top eight advancing to the finals.
“This will be a stepping stone for Amanda,” Ceppa said. “Today, she really only missed one dive and didn’t really miss it too bad but at this level, 5.5s and 6.0s won’t get you a top five finish when you need a 6.5 score. In a meet like this you can’t miss, even by a little bit with only five dives. With that said, for Amanda to make the finals and be in this position is just an amazing accomplishment. She held her own against Olympic divers and divers who are out of college. This was an achievement on a national level.”
“I’m happy that I made finals in a national championship,” said Burke. “I wanted to do better and those are the expectations that I have for myself. I’m not happy just to qualify which I guess is a good thing. I just felt that seeing some of the other divers, I could have beaten more of them if I executed one or two more of the divers a little better.”
In her first outdoor meet following the indoor college season, Burke made nationals at the USA Spring National Qualifier last week in Boca Raton, Florida by placing fifth out of 40 divers with a score of 208.10 on the one-meter and 15th out of 37 divers with a score of 204.00 on the three-meter.
In March, Burke was 20th on the one-meter and 24th on the three-meter at the 2009 NCAA Championships after placing 35th on the three-meter and 39th on the one-meter at the 2008 NCAA’s.
A two-time MAAC Championship Outstanding Performer, Burke was named Rider's Female Athlete of the Year in 2007-08. A three-time regional qualifier, Burke is a two-time NCAA qualifier and was the first Rider swimmer or diver to qualify for NCAA’s.
“Amanda has shown great character through the pressures of the meet,” Ceppa said. “When she gets back to a meet like this, have gotten so close, she will want it more and more and that will drive her to succeed and she will be hungry to take that next step.”