Senior divers Amy Schmidt and Mike Westwood knew this would be their last chance to ever make the NCAA Championships -- and they reacted appropriately.

"The seniors laid loose and relaxed," Diving Coach Craig Brown said. "They turned it on when they really needed to."

Schmidt and Westwood -- along with sophomore Chris Devine -- qualified for the NCAA Championships at this weekend's prequalifying meet at Princeton University.

Schmidt qualified for the NCAAs with her combined score -- she finished second on both the 1- and 3-meter boards.

"Her 1-meter was real nice," Brown said. "On the 3-meter, she missed a couple dives, but she came back real big. Amy's last two dives were the two best (of the meet). She really put (the competition) away with them."

"I was really happy with the way I dove," Schmidt said. "The meet was not quite as intimidating as Big Ten (Championships). It was not so new.

"There was a lot of camaraderie (at the prequalifying meet). I knew everyone (there). It was more relaxing (and) easier to stay focused."

Devine succeeded in making NCAAs by winning the 1-meter competition, while Westwood qualified with his combined score in the two competitions. Devine said that it was a little tough on the mental side of things.

"This meet was tense," Devine said. "On Friday only one person was going to qualify, so it was hard. But we all kept each other up for every dive, and nobody had two poor dives back-to-back."

Two other Penn State divers, Ryan Smith and Tara Stevens, participated in the meet.

Stevens qualified for NCAAs as an alternate, but she will not make the trip to Texas unless a diver drops out of the competition.

"Tara made a real good impression," Brown said. "She was not as sharp as she had been, but we saw some real, real good things from her."

Smith was a bit of a surprise at the meet, finishing 12th in the 1-meter dive and seventh in the 3-meter event.

"Ryan was terrific," Brown said. "Nobody thought he would do that well."

Schmidt will participate in the NCAAs along with the women's swimming team this weekend, while Westwood and Devine will have to wait until the following week (March 26-29) to compete.