Aug 6, 2007

Menlo Park native wins national diving championship at Stanford

By Fred Baer / Daily News Staff Writer

Ariel Rittenhouse is doing her best to uphold the family Olympic tradition. The Menlo Park native captured a national championship at Stanford on Sunday in the last major USA diving competition of the year and now has her sights set on the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Rittenhouse teamed with Kelci Bryant to win the women's 3-meter synchro crown at the Kaiser Permanente National Championships at Stanford's Maas Diving Center, scoring 319.80 points.

New Stanford grad Cassidy Krug also had a banner day, winning the 3-meter springboard with an impressive 347.10 points for her first individual championship. She then joined with silver medalist Nancilea Foster to place second in the synchro event, with 291.15 points.

The 16-year-old Rittenhouse is daughter of International Swimming Hall of Fame member Sharon Finneran, who set nine world records in the 1960's as a member of the legendary Santa Clara Swim Club. Sharon won a silver medal in the 400 individual medley at the 1964 Olympics and her brother Mike was a diver in the 1972 Olympics.

"It's really been fun competing here," Rittenhouse said, noting the family and friends in attendance (including grandmother Carolyn Finneran, the manger of the 1976 U.S. Olympic swim team). "But there's no pressure on me to carry on the family tradition; just do your best - that's all that matters."

Just eight days earlier, Rittenhouse, with Bryant, won the synchro silver medal at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to become a second generation medalist (and just missed gold by two points). Mother Sharon swam to gold in the 400 IM at the 1963 Pan Am's and uncle Mike dove to 3-meter gold at the 1971 Games.

Rittenhouse and Bryant also represented the USA at the FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia in March, finishing tenth, and are happy their long season is now over. They currently live and train at USA Diving's national (indoor) training center in Indianapolis.

In the individual 3-meter competition at Stanford, Krug was the only competitor to post five solid dives. She took the lead on her third dive, receiving six 8.5 scores on her reverse 2 1/2 dive. She opened up a 16 1/2 point lead in the next round. Foster closed well, scoring six 9's on her last two dives, but still finished 13 1/2 points behind Krug, who put-up six 8's on her last dive.

"My goal today was, on every dive, to go out and go for it," Krug said.

Rittenhouse had trouble on her first two dives but scored solidly on each succeeding dive to tie with Bryant for sixth place with 283.35 points. "After my first two dives, I just relaxed more," Rittenhouse said. "It was a little windy, but nothing bad."

Krug had no trouble with the conditions. "I love this pool," she said. "I really like diving outside. I'm ready for the sun, the wind, and the birds." The latter was a reference to a flock of birds that flew by boards during the competition.

Krug, who won 1-meter and 3-meter NCAA championships for Stanford this year, saw the USA title as a confidence builder in her last competition before the going after an American team berth for the World Cup in Beijing next February.

"I looked at it as a mental thing for me," she said. "I have to learn not to be scared on the board. Yes, I have had problems."

In Sunday's men's competition, Thomas Finchum of Indianapolis won his third individual national 10-meter title, scoring 498.40 points, then paired with David Douia of Noblesville, Ind., to take the 10-meter synchro crown with 429.24 points.

JJ Kinzbach (Montgomery, Texas) was third individually with 478.75 points. He was also third in synchro with Daniel Mazzaferro (Cheshire, Conn.) after scoring 369.90 points. Wes Wieser (St. Louis, Mo.) and Sean Moore (Englewood, Colo.) were second at 385.62.