INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Sophomore diver Kaela Springer of the University of Rochester women's swimming and diving team overcame a slow start on the final day of the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, rallying for a strong 14th place finish on the 3-meter diving board at the IU Natatorium.
 
Springer's result was good enough to earn the sophomore Second Team All-America honors, while also scoring three team points for URochester, earning the Yellowjackets a 41st place finish overall in the team standings in the meet.
 
Overall, Springer becomes the 148th all-time All-American in team history, and is the first since Sophie Lever was named in 2021. Springer is the first 'Jacket diver to finish in the top-16 at the NCAA Championships since Danielle Neu achieved that feat back in 2014, also coming on the 3-meter board.
 
On Saturday, Springer started out slowly, ranking towards the bottom of the standings after her first four dives in the preliminary round. After earning 37.80 points in round five on the inward one and a half somersault pike, Springer began her ascent up the leaderboard.
 
In round six, the sophomore scored a whopping 50.40 points, second best in the 29-diver field during that round, to continue moving up in the standings. That dive was the back two and a half somersault tuck and ended as Springer's top prelim dive of the day.
 
The rest of the preliminary round featured three more dives scoring 40 or more points, with the sophomore compiling a total of 419.90 points over the 11 dives, ranking 14th after the prelim round.
 
Finishers nine through 16 then advanced to the consolation final where they carried over scores from the five voluntary dives and attempted their six optional dives again to reach their final score. Springer's total from the voluntaries in the prelim round was 155.95 points.
 
In the evening session, Springer improved her score slightly, finishing with a total of 423.60 points, staying where she was seeded after prelims, sixth among the consolation finalists, eventually ranking 14th overall.
 
Springer finished scoring the scoring with a flourish, netting a combined 99.45 points on her final two dives. Those dives were the forward two and a half somersault pike which scored 46.80 points and the inward two and a half somersault pike which scored 52.65 points. Both dives led all competitors in the consolation final for those rounds.