Christina Loukas wins her sixth national title with a win on 1-meter at AT&T National Diving Championships

Tallahassee, Fla. - Christina Loukas (Riverwoods, Ill.) claimed the 1-meter title Wednesday at the AT&T National Diving Championships, giving the 2008 Olympian her fourth national title on that event and sixth overall.

Loukas scored 308.85 points, with the silver medal going to Victoria Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.) with 303.35 points. Olympian Kelci Bryant (Chatham, Ill.) scored 300.60 points for bronze.

Loukas trailed Ishimatsu heading into the final round but came up with 9s and 9.5s on her reverse 1 ½ with 1 ½ twists to jump into first place. Her 308.85 points set a new personal best, surpassing the 303.30 she scored to win the 1-meter title at the 2009 spring national championships. Loukas recently returned from Rome, Italy, where she placed eighth on this event at the World Championships.

"I'm really happy with how I dove tonight. This was my high score," Loukas said. "I came in with no expectations. After worlds, I just wanted to go all out and whatever happened, happened."

Men's 3-meter semifinals were also held Wednesday, with four Olympians among the 12 divers advancing to Saturday's finals. Olympians Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.) and Chris Colwill (Brandon, Fla.) finished first and second in the semis with 470.30 and 448.00 points. Matt Cooper (Bethesda, Md.) qualified third at 415.85. Olympians Jevon Tarantino (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Thomas Finchum (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Florida State's Terry Horner (Orlando, Fla.) are also among the 12 finalists.

The AT&T National Diving Championships continue through August 16. Thursday's competition includes women's 3-meter quarterfinals and semifinals and men's 1-meter semifinals and finals. Competition begins at 11 a.m.; the finals are set for 6 p.m.

- USA Diving -

Featuring America's best divers, USA Diving is the national governing body for the sport of diving. Headquartered in Indianapolis, USA Diving offers diversified programs geared toward the broadest number of diving enthusiasts, from the novice to the world champion. USA Diving conducts approximately 40 regional and national events annually and is responsible for training and selecting teams that represent the United States at international events such as the Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup. For additional information please call Jennifer Lowery at (317) 237-5252 or visit www.usadiving.org.

Tags: Christina Loukas, Diving