Emory University junior Daniel Kolb claimed a conference championship in the one-meter dive during the first day of competition on Wednesday at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships in Rochester, NY.

Kolb finished the event with a score of 476.35, good for an NCAA qualifying mark, and just under eight points better than second-place Daniel Jacobson of Case Western Reserve University.  In the preliminaries, Kolb scored a career-best 484.45 points, finishing third during the morning session.

Kolb became the first Emory diver to win the conference championship off the one-meter board since the 2006 season, when Michael Klein won the event for the second time during his career.  He becomes the fourth Eagle ever to win the men’s one-meter dive, joining Klein, Chris Radpour (1990) and John Sutter (2004).  The finish was a one-spot improvement from last year for Kolb, who was the 2010 UAA runner-up in the event.

Kolb will attempt to sweep the men’s diving later in the meet, as he is scheduled to compete in the three-meter dive on Friday.  The UAA Championships, hosted by the University of Rochester, will continue on Thursday, as the 200-yard freestyle relay, 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle, 400-yard medley relay and women’s three-meter dive will be contested.