Diver Aaron Fleshner Earns All-American Honors
3/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
March 28, 2008
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - A year after finishing sixth off the 3-meter board at the NCAA Championships as a rookie, Alabama diver Aaron Fleshner continued his standout sophomore season, finishing third after scoring 414.40 points in the finals here at the King County Aquatic Center on championship's second day.
"Aaron is a competitor and he just went out there tonight and hit his dives," Alabama head coach Eric McIlquham said. "He continues to get better and better as he goes along. He's only a sophomore and it's exciting to think about what he can accomplish over the next two years."
Fleshner, who won the Southeastern Conference 3-meter title last month, earned his second All-American honor in this event with the effort. He was fifth after the afternoon's preliminary round.
Fleshner's 16 team points, combined with the four earned by freshman Catalin Cosma one day before, pushed the Tide into the top 25 of the team standings, coming in at 22nd after 13 events. Earlier in the day Cosma finished 40th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:37.96.
Fleshner finishes the championships off the platform Saturday, while Cosma will compete in the mile. As a rookie in 2007, Fleshner earned honorable mention All-American honors in the platform event.
