Amanda Burke wins 1-meter title

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LOS ANGELES -- A couple math-loving Amys won the 10-meter synchronized platform title at the U.S. diving championships Thursday night.

Amy Cozad and Amy Korthauer, who train in Bloomington, Ind., totaled 295.92 points at UCLA. They will compete at the World University Games in China next week and in the Pan American Games this fall.

"We didn't hit everything we wanted to," said Korthauer, the taller Amy who recently graduated from Indiana University with plans of teaching math. Cozad will be a junior there in the fall. "It'll be fun to see how we handle international competition together. This is our first big meet together."

Jessica Parratto and Anna James were second at 291.00. Sisters Victoria and Haley Ishimatsu were third at 264.72.

Cozad and Korthauer led every round except the third, when they dropped to second before rallying to overtake Parratto and James, who both competed at the recent world championships in China.

"My bad," Korthauer said of missing on their 3½ pike in a contest with judges including former Olympic platform bronze medalist Mary Ellen Clark. "It's one of my least consistent."

In 1-meter springboard, Amanda Burke narrowly won her first national title.

Burke totaled 270.10, edging Erin Mertz, who had 270.00. Samantha Pickens was third at 264.05.

Kassidy Cook was fourth at 263.65 after botching her first dive in the non-Olympic event. Cook finished seventh with partner Christina Loukas in 3-meter synchronized in China.

"I'm pretty happy with how I did," Cook said. "I know if I could have hit my front 2½ I would have been right there. It's hard transitioning from worlds back to a national event."

Burke, a 24-year-old who trains in Indianapolis and sports 14 piercings including her tongue, is aiming to make next year's London Olympics.

"I feel really confident," she said. "I have a lot more competitions under my belt."

She made three NCAA championships appearances while diving at Rider, where she first began taking diving seriously. Burke was diving in 2001 when she broke her femur in a freak accident on the board. She hadn't launched an inward 1½ dive when one leg buckled and the knee on her other leg hit the board. The accident cost her nine months out of the sport.

The United States won just one medal at worlds -- David Boudia's silver on 10-meter -- but Cook said it lifted the entire team.

"That was a really good confidence booster," she said. "The biggest thing I took was the U.S. is right there. We can even matchup with the Chinese in some aspects. I like to watch the Chinese. They obviously have the best techniques."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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