Diving team off to Austin for NCAA zone meet

The Arizona State diving team heads to Austin, Texas for the NCAA Zone E Diving Championships. Constantin Blaha, Cameron Bradshaw, Elina Eggers, Marissa Johnson, Brittany Jumer and Riley McCormick will compete to move on to the NCAA Championships. There are six spots for the women's team and seven spots open for the men.

Top of the Pac
The diving team is coming off a very productive Pac-10 Championship. Blaha was named Pac-10 Diver of the Meet and of the Month after he took the top of the podium for the 3-meter and earned a silver medal on the 1-meter. Additionally, the Austrian Olympian placed fourth on the 10-meter platform.

Elina Eggers earned a medal of each color. Eggers, an Olympic finalist on the 10-meter platform, easily won the tower. Additionally, she placed second on the 3-meter and third on the 1-meter. Riley McCormick, who is ranked eighth in the world on platform, won the 10-meter. Cameron Bradshaw took second on the 3-meter.

Elite Elina
Now that she has shown she is one of the Pac-10's elite, sophomore Eggers is ready to prove she belongs in the talk of the nation's best. Along with being the only female diver to take the podium each time at the Pac-10 Championships, Eggers has swept the springboard events against powerhouses such as Cal, UCLA and Stanford and she won at least one of the boards in dual meets versus USC and Stanford. Early on in the season, she shattered a five-year standing 1-meter record. Additionally, she dominated the tower at the Wildcat Invitational. Eggers was named Pac-10 Diver of the Month for the month of December this season.

Canada's finest
Currently ranked eighth in the world, McCormick is a force to be reckoned with on the 10-meter platform. He recently won tower at the Canadian Winter Nationals. While his specialty may be the tower, he has emerged into quite the springboarder under the guidance of Mark Bradshaw. McCormick nearly reached the podium in both springboard events at the Pac-10 Championships and has swept the boards at California earlier this season.

Cuckoo for Coco
Blaha, who is called by the nickname "Coco" by his friends, has had quite the semester. Despite being forced to sit out for a year due to NCAA regulations, Blaha was the top diver at the Pac-10 Championships. In dual meets, he swept the springboards in his first week of competition and was named ASU Athlete of the Week for his effort.

Experience matters
While a lot of the spotlight has been on the Sun Devils' three Olympians, Cameron Bradshaw and Jumer have quietly put forth very strong seasons. Jumer has consistently challenged Eggers for top spots in dual meets and is one of the top scorers in the conference. Bradshaw was runner-up at the Pac-10 Championships on the 3-meter and won the 1-meter at the Wildcat Invitational. He has also scored higher than teammates McCormick and Blaha in several competitions

ASU Diving did you knows:
Did you know Constantin Blaha's win on the 3-meter marks the eighth straight time a Sun Devil has taken the top of the podium for the Pac-10 3-meter Championship?
Joona Puhakka won all of his four years (2003-06) and Micky Benedetti dominated during his years (2007-09).

Did you know that Mark Bradshaw has been selected by his fellow conference coaches as the Pac-10 Coach of the Year seven times?
He was named Men's Pac-10 Diving Coach of the Year six consecutive times from 2003-08 and was also selected as the women's Coach of the Year in 2004. This is more than any other diving coach in Pac-10 history and is the most Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors out of any current head coach at ASU.

Did you know the Sun Devils currently have three 2008 Olympians on their team?
Elina Eggers reached the finals of the women's 10-meter platform while representing her native Sweden in Beijing. Riley McCormick dove for Team Canada on the 10-meter tower while Constantin Blaha competed for Austria on the 3-meter springboard. In addition, head coach Mark Bradshaw, who finished fifth on 3-meter at the 1988 Olympic Games, served as former Sun Devil star Joona Puhakka's coach in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.

Did you know Mark Bradshaw's divers have earned a total of 21 individual Pac-10 Championships?
After Eggers, Blaha and McCormick took the top of the podium at the Pac-10 Championships, Coach Bradshaw's divers have earned 21 individual championships. ASU great Puhakka dominated the springboard events during his reign as he won a total of eight individual titles. Benedetti became the first Sun Devil to sweep the diving events in 2008. Additionally he won both the 3-meter and the platform his sophomore season and the 3-meter his senior year. Trisha Tumlinson took home gold medals on both the 3-meter and the platform in 2004, along with the platform title in 2005. Marc Briggs won the 3-meter in 2000.

Did you know Mark Bradshaw's divers have earned a total of seven Pac-10 Diver of the Year awards and four Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year honors?
Trisha Tumlinson was named Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year in 2003 and was selected as Diver of the Year in 2004. Three males were tabbed as Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year with Thomas McCrummen in 2002, Joona Puhakka in 2003 and Micky Benedetti in 2007. Puhakka dominated the Diver of the Year awards during his time at ASU as he was selected from 2003-06. Benedetti was named the conference's best diver in 2007 and 2008.

Did you know Mark Bradshaw's divers have won four NCAA Individual Championships and 25 All-American honors?
Joona Puhakka took the national title in the 1-meter in 2003 and 2005 and the 3-meter in 2004 and 2005. Puhakka, Trisha Tumlinson, Micky Benedetti, Marc Briggs, Katrina Pfeuffer and Patricia Malatesta have collected All-American accolades under Mark Bradshaw.