March 15, 2002

West Lafayette, Ind. - Notre Dame senior Heather Mattingly qualified for the 2002 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships after placing second on the three-meter board Saturday at the NCAA Zone C Diving Meet.

Mattingly finished second with 522.10 points to earn a spot at the national meet. Indiana senior Erin Quinn was first with 556.00 points. Notre Dame sophomore Meghan Perry-Eaton missed qualifying for the NCAAs after placing 13th with 432.65 points.

Mattingly will be making her fourth appearance at the NCAA Championships, scheduled for Thursday-Saturday, March 21-23 in Austin, Texas. She is the only Notre Dame diver in history to qualify for the NCAA Championships all four years of her career, Mattingly has earned honorable mention All-American honors three times and recorded her best-ever finish in 2001 after placing 12th in the three-meter event.

Mattingly had to pull off one of her best performances Saturday after she missed qualifying for the NCAA meet in the one-meter competition after finished fourth with 281.90 points on Friday. Only the top three finishers qualify for the NCAA championships. Perry-Eaton was a disppointing sixth with 279.50 points as only 12 points separated the top six finishers with less than nine points separating places two through six. Purdue senior Kara Hajek-Gustafson was first with 291.65 points, followed by Michigan State senior Carly Weiden (288.30) and Quinn (286.30).

Note: For complete results, please see www.purduesports.com