HOPEWELL VALLEY:
Upperco most outstanding again
University of Massachusetts senior Karen Upperco of Titusville, N.J. was recently named the Atlantic 10's Most Outstanding Diver after posting first place finishes in two diving events at the A-10 Championships.
She and freshmen Jason Cook of Amherst, were in Buffalo, representing UMass at this year's NCAA Zone A Diving Regional. Both divers competed in the one-meter and the three-meter and both have been selected as two of the 58 total competitors for this season's Zones.
This marked the fourth consecutive trip for Upperco to the NCAA Zone Regional and the senior has improved every year she competes. In her freshman season, Upperco finished 22nd in the one-meter event, and 29th in the three-meter.
As a sophomore, she dramatically improved on her premier performance, finishing seventh in the one-meter and fifth in the three-meter. Last season, the 2005 graduate of Hopewell Valley Central High School notched a fourth-place finish in each diving event.
This year, Upperco ended her final collegiate season on a high note as she notched a new Atlantic 10 record in the three-meter dive (588.25) and was named A-10 Champion in the one-meter (520.30), an event in which she already holds the conference record with a score of 520.60. The senior also notched a new Joseph Rogers Pool record after scoring 279.45 in the three-meter dive on Senior Day against Colgate and now sits atop the UMass record books in the three-meter dive and ranks third in school history in the one-meter.
At this year's A-10 Championships, the Minutewomen also dominated as they notched a fourth-place finish for the second year in a row at the Championships and broke six school records. The team was led by two of its senior captains - Upperco and Christa Narus of Stony Brook, N.Y.
Upperco was the team's leader on the diving board as she finished first in both diving events, something she hasn't done since her freshman year at A-10s. Narus added a third-place finish in the 200 fly (2:04.88) on day four to her record-breaking third-place finish in the 100 fly and fifth-place finish in the 200 free that she notched on the third day of competition.
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UMASS PROFILE
General: Holds the Atlantic 10 Championship records in the one-meter and the three-meter ... Holds the UMass school record in the three-meter dive (310.50) and ranks third all-time in the one-meter (278.85) ... Was named A-10 Most Outstanding Diver for the third time in her career.
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2008-09 (Senior): Was named A-10 Most Outstanding Diver, A-10 Student-Athlete of the Year, and UMass Dinn Bros. Winter Scholar-Athlete as a senior ... Set two new A-10 Championship records after placing first in the one-meter (270.70) and three-meter (292.15) at this year's Championships (2/18-21) ... Placed first in both the one-meter and three-meter diving events in the final dual meet of the season at Fordham (1/31) ... Set a new Pool Record in the three-meter dive with a score of 297.45 while adding another first-place finish in the one-meter (261.23) against Colgate (1/25) ... Finished first in the three-meter (259.35) and third in the one-meter (211.35) at home against Boston College (1/24) ... Finished first in both the one-meter (259.20) and the three-meter (259.35) at the Rhode Island Invitational (1/16-17) ... Notched a first-place finish in the one-meter (304.60) and a second-place finish in the three-meter (281.20) at the Galbraith Diving Invitational (12/6) ... Notched two first-place finishes: three-meter (279.75) and one-meter (251.32) at Binghamton (11/8) ... Finished first in the three-meter (277.80) and second in the one-meter (248.16) at home against Army (10/25) ... Notched two second-place finishes in the first meet of the season at Boston University (10/18).
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2007-08 (Junior): Atlantic 10 Most Outstanding Diver ... UMass Winter Female Scholar Athlete ... Competed at the NCAA Regionals (3/14-16) and finished fourth of 22 divers on both boards, notched a score of 532.65 on the one-meter dive and 563.65 on the three-meter dive ... Finished second in the three-meter dive with a score of 563.95 and first in the one-meter dive (520.60) at the A-10 Championships (2/20-23) ... Placed first in the one-meter dive with a score of 249.45, and second in the three-meter dive (261.30) at the Rhode Island Invitational (1/11-12).
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2006-07 (Sophomore): Second-Team All-Atlantic 10 member ... Named to the A-10 Commissioner's Spring Honor Roll ... Earned UMass/Dinn Bros. Athlete of the Week (2/5) ... At the A-10 Championships (2/21-24) took second in the three-meter dive (523.50) and third in the one-meter dive (476.85) ... At Fordham (2/3) won the one-meter dive (264.38) and the three-meter dive (279.90) ... Had her top three-meter dive of 280.70 at Colgate/Binghamton ... Posted eight wins on the season (six on the three-meter board).
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2005-06 (Freshman): First-team all-conference diver after winning the one-meter and three-meter dives at the A-10 Championships (2/18) ... Named A-10 Women's Most Outstanding Diver ... Named team MVP ... Earned A-10 Rookie of the Week honors (11/14) and UMass/Dinn Bros. Athlete of the Week honors (12/5, 2/20) ... Had 16 first-place finishes for the season between the one-meter and three-meter boards ... Finished the season 22nd on the one-meter board and 29th on the three-meter board at the NCAA Zone A Regional meet.
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Before UMass: A 2005 graduate of Hopewell Valley Central High School where she was a three-time All-American diver ... Was a 10 time National Diving Qualifier with her highest finish being seventh on the three-meter board ... Took sixth place on the three-meter board at the 2005 AAU Nationals ... Finished third at the 2005 New Jersey State Diving Championships ... Also swam the freestyle and butterfly events ... Led the Bulldogs to the New Jersey State Sectional title in 2002-03 and to a Colonial Division Championship in 2004-05 ... A two-time Mercer County Diving Champion and a member of the All-CVC Team as a senior.
Labels: Girls Swimming, Hopewell Valley
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