Indiana University Athletics
Carlton Named Captain of Men's Diving at Universiade
8/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Aug. 13, 2005
courtesy of USOC
IZMIR, Turkey - The U.S. Diving team is ready to test the competition waters at the newly completed Narlidere Swimming Pool, an outdoor venue, in Izmir, Turkey, with the expectation to medal in every contested event. Competition gets underway Sunday, August 14 at 10 a.m. with the women's 1m springboard preliminary round.
Team USA fields 10 quality divers all hailing from either a Big Ten or Southeastern Conference school including both head coaches Dr. Jeff Huber (Bloomington, Ind./Indiana University) and Jeff Shaffer (Auburn, Ala./Auburn University), along with team leader and former Olympian Micki King (Lexington, Ky./University of Kentucky).
This marks the second Universiade for Huber. He last coached the team at the 1991 Games in Sheffield, England.
"I think we have a great group of athletes here and I believe everyone on the team has a shot at a medal," Huber said. "Our goal is to stick together as a team and this group has really clicked. I feel that team unity is important because the chemistry seems to help us in competition."
2004 Olympian and three-time World University Games medalist (silver and two bronzes in 2003) Cassandra Cardinell leads a talented field of divers. Cardinell, elected women's team captain, will use her knowledge and past experience as she goes for the gold in the individual platform and synchronized platform. She will compete in the individual platform on Tuesday, Aug. 16 and synchronized on Wednesday, Aug. 17.
"I am glad to see her here and it is a nice honor for her," Huber said. "She is really deserving and very happy to be here. She was elected captain of the women's team and she sees that as an honor and a responsibility to the rest of the team."
Cardinell, who competed with fellow Indiana diver Sara Hildebrand in the synchronized diving in 2003 and 2004, will dive alongside Indiana and Team USA teammate Christina Loukas for these Games.
Loukas, like Cardinell, will begin her competition on Aug. 16 with the platform preliminaries. They are both coming off the world championships in Montreal, Canada, where Loukas finished fifth in the 1m springboard and 12th in the 3m synchronized springboard. Cardinell placed fifth in the 10m synchronized platform with 2000 Olympic gold medalist Laura Wilkinson.
The 2005 World University Games will be Marc Carlton's final meet as a diver. The men's team captain will continue his graduate studies at Indiana University. Carlton will compete in the individual platform on Friday, Aug. 19 and in the synchronized platform on Saturday, Aug. 20 with Steven Segerlin.
This year's team was selected using a multi-tiered selection process, a newly implemented system by U.S.A Diving following the 2004 Olympic Games. Two of the main components were based on their performance at the NCAA Championships and the U.S. Open Diving.
