The men's and women's diving teams concluded their seasons this weekend at the NCAA Zone A Championships in Annapolis, Md. Jessica Larson '06 and Dana Meadow '07 represented the women, while Kai Robinson '06 competed for the men.
Larson competed first for the Bears with a strong performance in the one-meter trials. Her score of 254.15 was the best during the preliminaries, just ahead of Harvard's Samantha Papadakis. Larson held on to her lead through the early rounds of finals but was passed by Papadakis on her last dive. Papadakis's score of 502.40 smashed the Crimson's school record and edged Larson by a mere four points.
The narrow margin between first and second meant Larson would not be traveling to Atlanta for the national competition. Despite dominating the Ivy League all season, the senior did not end her year the way she had hoped.
"I was a little disappointed with my performance on one-meter, considering I was in first place until my very last dive. I could have dove better," Larson said. "I've never qualified for nationals. Last year I missed by a couple of points, just like this year."
The loss was the only blemish on Larson's one-meter record for the year - a record that includes an Ivy League title.
Meadow turned in a solid performance of her own in the one-meter event, scoring 205.95 in the trials. Her score was high enough to advance to the 18-woman finals, where she tallied 208.85 to place 15th.
Robinson competed in the three-meter event on the first day of competition, notching a score of 197.45 to finish in 28th. The first year opened day two for the Bears by nailing down 20th place in the one-meter contest. His score of 229.70 was less than 10 points and two positions away from the cutoff for finals.
Larson and Meadow returned to the pool on day two as well, competing in the three-meter event. Meadow finished in 33rd and did not make the finals. Larson's attempt to avenge her loss in the one-meter fell short, as she finished 12th in the trials and 13th in the finals.
"My diving in the three-meter did not go well at all," Larson said. "The disappointment from the one-meter hung over my head during the three-meter competition."
The meet was the final competition of the season for both men's and women's diving teams and Larson's final appearance in a Brown swimsuit.
