Indiana University Athletics
Loukas Earns Silver, Bronze at World University Games
8/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Aug. 18, 2007
BANGKOK - Christina Loukas (Riverwoods, Ill./Deerfield) scored a pair of medals for the USA at the World University Games on Saturday, winning the silver medal in the 3m springboard and taking the bronze with partner Amanda Miller in the 3m springboard synchronized event. The United States finished with three diving medals at the Games.
Loukas opened her program with a 63-point inward 2 1/2 somersault pike, placing her in fifth place after the first round. After moving up to fourth place in the second round, Loukas executed a back 2 1/2 somersault pike in round three for 67.50 points, moving her to third place.
The eight-time NCAA All-American continued her climb in the fourth round with a 70.5-point reverse 2 1/2 somersault pike that elicited a roar from the crowd and launched her into second place. Loukas concluded her program with a forward 2 1/2 somersault, 1 twist pike for 67.50 points to secure the silver medal with 328.95 total points.
"I'm really excited," Loukas said. "Coming into this I was very nervous, but I just tried to take it one dive at time, and it was helpful having the whole team behind me, cheering and just being really supportive.
"It's definitely a boost of confidence, because these people are the ones that I'll be competing against if I make the Olympic Team. It's a great motivator because now I know I can compete with them."
The gold medal went to China's Ting Li (363.85) while Paola Milagros Espinosa of Mexico (319.50) won bronze.
Loukas and Miller won the bronze medal in the women's 3m synchro with 319.80 points. The duo will continue training together for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
"This is our high score by about 20 points, so we're both really, really excited about how we did," Loukas said. "It shows us that we can compete with these people being a newer synchro team, so it's definitely going to help us confidence-wise."
The U.S. duo led the first round with a score of 52.20 on an inward dive pike, and ranked third after the second round. They put some distance between themselves and fourth-place Japan with their fourth dive, a back 2 1/2 somersault pike that earned them 72.00 points for a 12-point cushion and a total score of 244.20. Diving last in the final round, Loukas and Miller needed 53.7 points to reach the medal stand. They easily covered the spread, scoring 75.60 points to win bronze.
The Mexican team of Paola Milagros Espinosa and Tatiana Ortiz won the gold medal with 324.30 points while silver went to China's Yuanyuan Hou and Ting Li with 322.80 points.
The U.S. squad, under the direction of Indiana head diving coach Dr. Jeff Huber, also featured IU alum Cassandra Cardinell. Cardinell finished fourth in the 10m platform synchronized event with partner Heather Bounds, and was ninth in the 10m platform solo competition.
Players Mentioned
