INDIANAPOLIS - Capping his collegiate diving career in the most impressive way possible, Tufts University senior diver Johann Schmidt won the NCAA Div. III one-meter championship for the second time in his career Friday night at the national meet.
Schmidt, who had scored third in the preliminaries earlier on Friday with a 500.45 score, compiled 522.95 points in the finals for the victory. He added the title to his NCAA one-meter victory from his sophomore season in 2012.
Earlier in the week Schmidt recorded the third-best NCAA finish of his career by taking fourth in the three-meter event on the first day of the 2014 NCAA Div. III Championships Wednesday at Indiana University Natatorium. Schmidt recorded a score of 520.10 in the finals, improving upon his 515.30 in the preliminaries. For this performances in both events, Schmidt was named the 2014 NCAA Div. III Diver of the Meet.
A four-time NCAA qualifier, Schmidt now owns seven All-American awards (top eight) and one honorable mention All-American honor (places 8-16) for his career. In addition to winning the NCAA one-meter championships on Friday and in 2012, he was third in three-meter last year (2013), fourth in three-meter Wednesday, fifth in one-meter last year, fifth in three-meter in 2012, sixth in three-meter in 2011 and 12th in one-meter in 2011.
Schmidt's one-meter victory Friday scored 20 team points for the Jumbos. The fourth place in the three-meter final scored 15 points for the Jumbos giving him 35 total at the meet. Tufts scored 50 points overall to place 19th at the national meet, their first top 20 placing since 2011 and their highest finish since the 2010 team tied for 18th.
Freshman diver Matt Rohrer finished 10th in both one- and three-meter diving to score 14 points for the Jumbos at his first NCAA meet. He had a score of 467.40 in Wednesday's three-meter final, which was better than his preliminary total of 463.25. Friday he also surpassed his preliminary score of 448.05 in one-meter with a 467.30 in the final.
Friday's success also came in the swimming events as sophomore Michael Winget made the final in the 100 backstroke. He broke his own school record in the preliminaries with a 49.65 time for 12th. In the finals he was 16th (one team point) with a finish of 50.40 seconds. His sub-50 time in the preliminaries broke his 50.16 school record from the regular season.
Freshman William Metcalfe also had a strong showing on Friday by placing 19th in the 200 butterfly with a school-record 1:50.70 time in the preliminaries. That time was faster than sophomore teammate Anthony DeBenedetto's 1:51.08 from last season in the Jumbo record book. Metcalfe was a half-second off reaching the top 16 in the event.
On Thursday at the NCAA meet, Metcalfe and Winget both swam in the 100 butterfly. Neither was among the 16 to qualify for the final, but each swam better than their qualifying marks. Metcalfe was 24th with a time of 49.76 seconds, improving upon his 49.49 season's best. Winget finished in 50.44 seconds, almost two seconds quicker than his 52.28 seed time.
Also competing for the Jumbos on Wednesday, Metcalfe swam 1:53.36 to place 39th in the 200 individual medley. On Saturday, the last day of the meet, Winget's 1:50.64 in the 200 backstroke touched 25th in the preliminaries.
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