A 22-year-old student was in critical condition at University Medical Center last night after being pulled out of the Student Recreation Center pool yesterday.

The woman, Miriam Kavoosi, was rescued after lifeguards noticed her lying motionless in the 6- to 7-foot-deep water.

About 2:35 p.m., the lifeguards at the Rec Center cleared the pool while one of them pulled Kavoosi out of the water. Two other lifeguards huddled around the unconscious woman, trying to revive her by performing CPR.

Lt. Brian A. Seastone of the University Arizona Police Department said the lifeguards became concerned when they noticed the woman, who had apparently been holding her breath underwater, stopped moving.

"When they saw her stop moving, they jumped in, brought her out, and immediately began administering CPR," he said.

Tucson Fire Department paramedics arrived on the scene 6 to 7 minutes later and took over CPR.

About 2:50 p.m., a paramedic said Kavoosi's heart was beating, and she began to breathe on her own. Shortly thereafter, she was transported to University Medical Center.

Hospital officials would not say what injuries Kavoosi sustained or what led to the near-drowning.

Brian Carswell, interim director of Campus Recreation, would not comment on the incident yesterday. Lifeguards at the pool also refused to comment.

Kelsi McAllister, journalism and communications sophomore, was sitting at the edge of the pool when the incident occurred. She said she often saw Kavoosi at the pool holding her breath underwater.

"She held her nose and went tumbling forward. She does it all the time, so no one really thought anything of it," McAllister said.

"Then I looked over the side of the pool and she was face down. The lifeguards jumped in. She wasn't moving."

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