March 11, 2004

MILWAUKEE - For the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee swimming and diving program, most of the athletes have gone into off-season mode and started to let this past season's results weigh on the mind. For two Panther divers, Hannah Burgard and Erin Blemberg, the season still goes on as they have qualified to compete in the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships on Friday, March 12 and Saturday, March 13.

There are five different ways a female diver can qualify for the zone competition. For 1-meter, they need to score 255 points or higher in a dual meet, 375 points in championship format (11 dives) or score 265 points in the optional format (six dives). To qualify on the 3-meter board the athlete must either score 270 points in a dual meet or score 425 points in championship format.

Burgard, a senior from West Bend, and Blemberg, a sophomore from Appleton, both qualified for the competition with their respective scores on the 3-meter board at the 2004 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships (2/25-28). Blemberg led the way with the highest score of the high-flyers by notching a point total of 433.55. Burgard came through with a score of 431.95 to join her teammate in qualifying.

"It's great when you can get one diver to qualify for zones," Panther diving coach Todd Hill said. "It's absolutely fantastic when you can get two people in. For this to happen to Hannah her senior year, it's a great way to wind things down. For Erin, hopefully this is really just the beginning for her."

This year's competition is being held at the Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center on the campus of Indiana University. As nice as going to Hoosier-country is, the ultimate goal is to advance to College Station, Texas for the NCAA Championship. However, that won't be an easy task to accomplish. The two Panthers will be facing stiff competition from 18 other schools, which will include universities such as Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ball State, Purdue and Indiana. Minnesota leads the field of competitors by qualifying four female divers while Michigan adds three. Besides the competition, the NCAA will welcome only 11 divers from the group of 29 to take place in the championships. In order to advance competitors must finish in the top five on the 3-meter board, the top four on the 1-meter board or in the top two places on the platform.

"The athletes know how tough it's going to be for them to keep moving, but I really feel they realize that they didn't just get lucky to qualify," Hill said. "They know that you have to be talented to advance to this competition and I know they'll give their best no matter what the final result is."

Competition for the event will kick off Friday with the women's 1-meter to begin at 12 p.m. on Friday. The women's 3-meter competition will be held on Saturday at 12 p.m.