Dumais, Bell, Colwill/Tarantino, Arnett/Cabassol win titles at Nationals

Tallahassee, Fla. - Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.) and Katie Bell (Columbus, Ohio) won individual titles, and Chris Colwill (Brandon, Fla.), Jevon Tarantino (Boca Raton, Fla.), Kaylea Arnett (Spring, Texas) and Michelle Cabassol (Montgomery, Texas) captured synchronized diving titles Saturday at the AT&T National Diving Championships at the Morcom Aquatics Center.

Dumais captured his 29th career national title with 511.80 points in the men's 3-meter finals. His best dive came in the fifth round when he earned marks as high as 10.0 on his reverse 3 ½.

"I felt a little flat. It's been a long year ... but I stood up to the challenge and did some really good dives," said Dumais, who earlier in the week won the 1-meter title.

Tarantino and Thomas Finchum (Indianapolis, Ind.) finished second and third. Tarantino earned 9s and 9.5s on his reverse 3 ½ en route to a silver medal and 484.75 points. Finchum scored a 10 on his reverse 2 ½ pike to lead him to a personal best 463.10 points and a bronze medal.

Tarantino and Olympic synchro teammate Colwill captured the 3-meter synchro title with 440.43 points, scoring 80 or more points on all four of their optional dives.

"We did something today that we haven't done in a long time. It was great to score 440. We really focused on our individual diving, and that helped our synchro," said Colwill, who took fourth individually in the 3-meter contest.

"It's been pretty rough after the Olympics, and we were much more relaxed today. (Before the meet), we said, 'We're going to do it.' It was great to come out and dive like that," Tarantino said.

David Colturi (Sylvania, Ohio) and Sean Moore (Englewood, Colo.) finished second at 366.96, and Dante Jones (Columbia, Mo.) and Greg DeStephen (Columbus, Ohio) scored 339.57 for bronze.

Bell won her first national title with 346.95 points in the women's platform contest. Just five points separated the top four divers after four rounds, but Bell broke away from the pack with 85.80 points in her back 3 ½ tuck in round five to take a 28-point lead into the final round.

"I just wanted to have fun out there, and I dove really well. I really wanted it," said Bell, who just returned to diving in the last year after sitting out for two years due to injury.

Casey Matthews (Buffalo, N.Y) finished second with 315.05 points, and Cabassol was third at 309.

Cabassol and Arnett then teamed for their third straight 10-meter synchro title with 316.08 points. Sarah Bacon (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Jessica Parratto (Dover, N.H.) were second with 266.70 points, and Brittney Feldman (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Heidi Mahnken (Springfield, Mo.) scored 232.05 for bronze.

"It was nice to keep our title, and we had fun doing it. I look forward to synchro," Cabassol said.

The AT&T National Diving Championships conclude Sunday, August 16 with finals in women's 3-meter, men's 10-meter, women's 3-meter synchro and men's 10-meter synchro. The first event is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.

Autograph sessions are also planned for Sunday. Olympian Haley Ishimatsu will be available from 10:30-11 a.m. Colwill and Tarantino and 2009 World Championship team member Terry Horner will sign from 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m., and Arnett and Cabassol will be available from 1:10-1:40 p.m.

About 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 <http://www.usadiving.org/> .