The Pomona-Pitzer women's swimming and diving team battled their way through the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships to earn a fifth-place finish with 226 points, the team’s highest finish in over three decades and head coach Jean-Paul Gowdy's highest finish in his career.
Among the team’s competitors was Durangoan Ruby Epstein, who became the first Pomona-Pitzer diver to compete in the national championships.
Epstein qualified for nationals with a second-place finish in the 1-meter board at the NCAA Division III Region 2 Diving Championships regional champions, held in San Antonio Feb. 25-26. Epstein scored 407.45 points in the 11-dive competition.
In the 3-meter regional competition, she placed 15th with 326.45 points, to also qualify in the event.
Epstein then became the program’s first female diver to compete at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships. The Sagehens previously had a qualifier in the 2020 championships, but the event was canceled, making Epstein the team’s first female to compete in the event and just its second to qualify.
At the national championships, Epstein finished 26th in the 1-meter dive.
Epstein then competed in the 3-meter dive, finishing her first NCAA Diving Championships with 349.60 points and a 29th-place finish.
Epstein will graduate from Pomona College in December.
