Senior Johann Schmidt wins his second NCAA one-meter title
Capping his collegiate diving career in the most impressive way possible, Tufts University senior Johann Schmidt won the 2014 NCAA Division III one-meter championship for the second time on March 21 at the national meet in Indianapolis.
Schmidt, who had placed third in the preliminaries earlier in the day, with a score of 500.45, 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. (Learn about that victory, with slideshow: “Strength on a Springboard.”)
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 this year’s championships on March 19 at the Indiana University Natatorium. Schmidt recorded a score of 520.10 in the finals, improving upon his 515.30 in the preliminaries. For his performances in both events, Schmidt was named the 2014 NCAA Division III Diver of the Meet.
A four-time NCAA qualifier, Schmidt now owns seven All-American awards (by finishing in the top eight) and one honorable mention All-American honor (places eight to 16) for his career. In addition to winning the NCAA one-meter championship twice, he was third in three-meter in 2013, fourth in three-meter and 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 scored 20 team points for the Jumbos, in addition to 15 points for his three-meter results. Tufts scored 50 points overall to place 19th at the national meet, its first top-20 placing since 2011 and the highest finish since the 2010 team tied for 18th.
Freshman diver Matt Rohrer finished 10th in both the one- and three-meter events to score 14 points for the Jumbos at his first NCAA meet. He had a score of 467.40 in the three-meter final on March 19, which was better than his preliminary total of 463.25. He also surpassed his preliminary score of 448.05 in the one-meter, with a 467.30 in the final.
Sophomore swimmer Michael Winget made the final in the 100 backstroke. He broke his own school record in the preliminaries with a time of 49.65 for 12th place. 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, placing 19th in the 200-meter 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.
Tufts Sports Information Director Paul Sweeney can be reached at paul.sweeney@tufts.edu.
