Devine Wins NCAA Three-Meter Diving Title

Phil Devine (So. • Winnebago, Ill.) became UW-Oshkosh's second national champion when he won the three-meter diving title at the NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championship in Minneapolis, Minn. The four-day meet concluded Saturday (March 20) at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

Devine, who rallied from a fifth-place deficit after the preliminaries, compiled 563 points to outscore 21 other competitors in the three-meter diving event. Defending champion Nicholas Halbach of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (N.Y.) finished second with 555 points, while Nathan LaRowe of State University of New York-Potsdam placed third with 542.95, Eric Messina of State University of New York-Oswego fourth with 541.95 and Kameron Chambliss of Alfred University (N.Y.) fifth with 501.15.

Devine joins Paul Harris as the only other national champion in the history of the UW-Oshkosh men's swimming and diving program. Harris won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.78 at the 1984 NCAA Division III Championship.

Devine earned another All-America award with his fifth-place score of 484.60 points in the one-meter diving. LaRowe won the event of 22 participants with 548 points, while Brian Sobel of Springfield College (Mass.) finished second with 527.90, Halbach third with 520.70 and Messina fourth with 490.60. Halbach was the event's defending champion.

Devine was making his second straight appearance at the NCAA Division III Championship. Last year, he collected a pair of All-America prizes by finishing fifth in the one-meter diving with 469.85 points and seventh in the three-meter diving with 466.25.

Dalton Anderson (Fr. • Elkhorn) also represented UW-Oshkosh at this year's meet. He placed 21st in the 200-yard butterfly with a school-record time of 1:54.44, 31st in the 100-yard butterfly with a performance of 50.91 and 45th in the 200-yard individual medley with an effort of 2:01.95.

Kenyon College (Ohio) scored 696 points to capture the team title for the 31st straight year. Denison University (Ohio) finished second with 272 points and Emory University (Ga.) third with 259.5. UW-Oshkosh placed 26th among the 61 teams that scored with 34 points.