STANFORD, California, August 1. CHRISTINA Loukas scored 293.45 points to win the women's 1-meter national title at the Kaiser Permanente National Diving Championships at the Maas Diving Center on Wednesday afternoon.
Loukas claimed her first individual national championship with solid, consistent diving. She received at least two marks of 8.0 or better on all five of her dives in the finals and was the only competitor to score no lower 7.0 from any judge on any dive.
Victoria Ishimatsu won the silver medal with 269.95 points, and Bianca Alvarez was third at 263.25.
"I'm really excited. I've come so close a few times, so I'm happy I finally broke through and did what I needed to do," said Loukas, who was second on 1-meter at the 2007 Speedo USA Diving Spring National Championships.
At the 2006 Kaiser Permanente National Diving Championships, Loukas was leading after three rounds but hit the board in the fourth round and ended up in sixth place.
"Last year was definitely in the back of my mind, and I used that as motivation. I knew I had the potential," Loukas said. "This gives me confidence heading into the rest of the week. I've got the first event out of the way, and I can focus on 3-meter now. I'm excited."
Wednesday's competition also featured men's 3-meter quarterfinal and semifinals. Two-time Olympian Troy Dumais, who won bronze on the event at last week's Pan American Games, scored 431.55 points in the semis to lead field. Jevon Tarantino was second at 406.05, and Nick McCrory was third at 386.80. The top 12 divers in the semis advance to Saturday's finals.
Special thanks to USA Diving for contributing this report.