This update includes all of the qualifiers from zones A, B, and D; zones C and E begin on Thursday.
Divers who have qualified for NCAA’s:
Zone A
JB Kolod (Virginia)
Ryan Hawkins (Virginia Tech)
Kyle Butts (Virginia Tech)
Michael Mosca (Harvard)
Thomas Shinholser (Virginia Tech)
Kaylea Arnett (Virginia Tech)
Michaela Butler (UMass)
Ashley Buchter (Virginia Tech)
Lilian McRae (Yale)
Kelli Stockton (Virginia Tech)
Nicole Scott (Rutgers)
Zone B
Nick McCrory (Duke)
Mauricio Robles (Tennessee)
Zac Nees (Miami)
Samuel Dorman (Miami)
Jack Nyquist (UNC)
Fraser McKean (Auburn)
John Santeiu (Auburn)
Thea Vock (Miami)
Laura Ryan (Georgia)
Katrina Young (Florida State)
Ariel Rittenhouse (Florida State)
Paige McCleary (Alabama)
Cheyenne Cousineau (Miami)
Lindsay Lester (Miami)
Kara McCormack (Miami)
Victoria Lamp (Tennessee)
Zone D
Michael Hixon (Texas)
David Bonuchi (Missouri)
Will Chandler (Texas)
Clark Thomas (Missouri)
Cory Bowersox (Texas)
Mark Anderson (Texas)
Matt Barnard (Minnesota)
Maren Taylor (Texas)
Maggie Keefer (Minnesota)
Lauren Reedy (Missouri)
Emma Ivory-Ganja (Texas)
Anna Filipcic (Nebraska)
Cassie Weil (LSU)
Jessica Ramberg (Minnesota)
Taylor Olanski (Houston)
Jessica Ramberg (Minnesota)
Breakdown so far (note that the lines won’t start to change until day 2)
Zone A
(5 men/6 women)
Christiansburg, Virginia, March 10th-12th
Teams ranked in the top 25 in this Zone:
Men – (#17 Penn St., #24 UVA)
Women – (#13 UVA)
Men’s Qualification
1. Platform – 1st Place – Ryan Hawkins (Virginia Tech)
2. Three-Meter – 1st Place – JB Kolod (Virginia)
3. One-Meter – 1st Place – Michael Mosca (Harvard)
4. Three-Meter – 2nd Place – Ryan Hawkins (Virginia Tech)
5. One-Meter – 2nd Place – Kyle Butts (Virginia Tech)
6. Three-Meter – 3rd Place – Michael Mosca (Harvard)
7. One-Meter – 3rd Place – Thomas Shinholser (Virginia Tech)
–Above this line qualified for NCAA’s–
8. Platform – 2nd Place – Thomas Shinholser (Virginia Tech)
9. Three-Meter – 4th Place – Kyle Butts (Virginia Tech)
10. One-Meter – 4th Place – JB Kolod (Virginia)
11. Three-Meter – 5th Place – Carl Buergler (Virginia)
Women’s Qualification
1. Platform – 1st Place – Kelli Stockton (Virginia Tech)
2. Three-Meter – 1st Place – Michaela Butler (UMass)
3. One-Meter – 1st Place – Kaylea Arnett (Virginia Tech)
4. Three-Meter – 2nd Place – Kaylea Arnett (Virginia Tech)
5. One-Meter – 2nd Place – Michaela Butler (UMass)
6. Three-Meter – 3rd Place – Lilian McRae (Yale)
7. One-Meter – 3rd Place – Lillian MacRae (Yale)
8. Platform – 2nd Place – Nicole Scott (Rutgers)
9. Three-Meter – 4th Place – Ashley Buchter (Virginia Tech)
—Above this line qualified for NCAA’s—
10. One-Meter – 4th Place – Rachel Eckert (Old Dominion)
11. Three-Meter – 5th Place – Taryn Urbanus (Connecticut)
12. Platform – 3rd Place – Kaylea Arnett (Virginia Tech)
13. One-Meter – 5th Place – Ashley Buchter (Virginia Tech)
14. Three-Meter – 6th Place – Mikhaila Eckhardt (UMass)
Zone B
(7 men/9 women)
Greensboro, North Carolina, March 10th-12th
Teams ranked in the top 25 in this Zone:
Men – (#3 Florida, #8 Auburn, #9 Georgia, #12 NC State, #14 Florida St., #15 Tennessee, #19 Duke)
Women – (#2 Georgia, #3 Florida, #7 Tennessee, #12 UNC, #14 Auburn, #22 Miami, #23 Florida State)
Men’s Qualification
1. Platform – 1st Place – Nick McCrory (Duke)
2. Three-Meter – 1st Place – Nick McCrory (Duke)
3. One-Meter – 1st Place – Sam Dorman (Miami)
4. Three-Meter – 2nd Place – Mauricio Robles (Tennessee)
5. One-Meter – 2nd Place – Nick McCrory (Duke)
6. Three-Meter – 3rd Place – Zac Nees (Miami)
7. One-Meter – 3rd Place – Zach Nees (Miami)
8. Platform – 2nd Place – Fraser McKean (Auburn)
9. Three-Meter – 4th Place – Jack Nyquist (North Carolina)
10. One-Meter – 4th Place – Mauricio Robles (Tennessee)
11. Three-Meter – 5th Place – Samuel Dorman (Miami)
12. Platform – 3rd Place – Mauricio Robles (Tennessee)
13. One-Meter – 5th Place – John Santeiu (Auburn)
–Above the line qualified for NCAA’s–
14. Three-Meter – 6th Place – Fraser Mckean (Auburn)
15. One-Meter – 6th Place – Thomas Neubacher (Florida St.)
16. Platform – 4th Place – John Santeiu (Auburn)
17. Three-Meter – 7th Place – John Santeiu (Auburn)
Women’s Qualification
1. Platform – 1st Place – Katrina Young (Florida State)
2. Three-Meter – 1st Place – Laura Ryan (Georgia)
3. One-Meter – 1st Place – Thea Vock (Miami)
4. Three-Meter – 2nd Place – Ariel Rittenhouse (Florida State)
5. One-Meter – 2nd Place – Katrina Young (Florida State)
6. Three-Meter – 3rd Place – Paige McCleary (Alabama)
7. One-Meter – 3rd Place – Ariel Rittenhouse (Florida State)
8. Platform – 2nd Place – Laura Ryan (Georgia)
9. Three-Meter – 4th Place – Cheyenne Cousineau (Miami)
10. One-Meter – 4th Place – Laura Ryan (Georgia)
11. Three-Meter – 5th Place – Lindsay Lester (Miami)
12. Platform – 3rd Place – Kara McCormack (Miami)
13. One-Meter – 5th Place – Victoria Lamp (Tennessee)
–Above the line qualified for NCAA’s–
14. Three-Meter – 6th Place – Ann-Perry Blank (Georgia)
15. One-Meter – 6th Place – Ann-Perry Blank (Georgia)
16. Platform – 4th Place – Sabrina Beaupre (Florida International)
17. Three-Meter – 7th Place – Kara McCormack (Miami)
18. One-Meter – 7th Place – Kara McCormack (Miami)
19. Three-Meter – 8th place – Katrina Young (Florida State)
20. Platform – 5th Place – Victoria Lamp (Tennessee)
21. One-Meter – 8th Place – Paige McCleary (Alabama)
22. Three-Meter – 9th Place – Kelsey Goodman (Florida State)
Zone D
(7 men/9 women)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 10th-12th
Teams ranked in the NCAA Championship top 25 in this Zone:
Men – (#2 Texas, #13 Missouri, #25 Texas A&M)
Women – (#4 Texas A&M, #9 Texas, #10 Minnesota, #15 Missouri, #20 Wisconsin, #21 SMU)
Men’s Qualification
1. Platform – 1st Place – Mark Anderson (Texas)
2. Three-Meter – 1st Place – Michael Hixon (Texas)
3. One-Meter – 1st Place – Clark Thomas (Missouri)
4. Three-Meter – 2nd Place – David Bonuchi (Missouri)
5. One-Meter – 2nd Place – Cory Bowersox (Texas)
6. Three-Meter – 3rd Place – Will Chandler (Texas)
7. One-Meter – 3rd Place – Michael Hixon (Texas)
8. Platform – 2nd Place – Matt Barnard (Minnesota)
–Above the line qualified for NCAA’s–
9. Three-Meter – 4th Place – Emanuel Pollard (Minnesota)
10. One-Meter – 4th Place – Sean McKinney (LSU)
11. Three-Meter – 5th Place – Bryce Klein (SMU)
12. Platform – 3rd Place – Devin Burnett (SMU)
13. One-Meter – 5th Place – Bryce Klein (SMU)
14. Three-Meter – 6th Place – Cory Bowersox (Texas)
15. One-Meter – 6th Place – Sean O’Brien (Texas)
16. Platform – 4th Place – Manny Pollard (Minnesota)
17. Three-Meter – 7th Place – Clark Thomas (Missouri)
Women’s Qualification
1. Platform – 1st Place – Samantha Bromberg (Texas)
2. Three-Meter – 1st Place – Maren Taylor (Texas)
3. One-Meter – 1st Place – Maren Taylor (Texas)
4. Three-Meter – 2nd Place – Emma Ivory-Ganja (Texas)
5. One-Meter – 2nd Place – Maggie Keefer (Minnesota)
6. Three-Meter – 3rd Place – Cassie Weil (LSU)
7. One-Meter – 3rd Place – Lauren Reedy (Missouri)
8. Platform – 2nd Place – Taylor Olanski (Houston)
9. Three-Meter – 4th Place – Anna Filipcic (Nebraska)
10. One-Meter – 4th Place – Jessica Ramberg (Minnesota)
–Above the line qualified for NCAA’s–
11. Three-Meter – 5th Place – Maggie Keefer (Minnesota)
12. Platform – 3rd Place – Sarah McCrady (Minnesota)
13. One-Meter – 5th Place – Alex Bettridge (LSU)
14. Three-Meter – 6th Place – Alex Bettridge (LSU)
15. One-Meter – 6th Place – Danielle Shedd (Houston)
16. Platform – 4th Place – Alex Bettridge (LSU)
17. Three-Meter – 7th Place – Samantha Bromberg (Texas)
18. One-Meter – 7th Place – Emma Ivory-Ganja (Texas)
19. Three-Meter – 8th place – Meghan Houston (Texas)
20. Platform – 5th Place – Calli Head (Iowa)
21. One-Meter – 8th Place – Abby Grilli (Iowa)
22. Three-Meter – 9th Place – Lauren Reedy (Missouri)
Day 1 Recap:
Day 1 of the 2014 NCAA Zone Diving Championships brought some good stories and good results, though there wasn’t a whole lot decided on the day.
In Zone A, Virginia’s JB Kolod was the first male qualifier, Virginia Tech got one in of each gender in Ryan Hawkins and Kaylea Arnett, and UMass’ Michaela Butler earned her second-straight trip to NCAA’s. Last year, Butler became the first All-American in UMass’ program history.
This was a close battle coming out of the prelims round, but Arnett pulled away in the 6-dive final for a relatively comfortable win.
On the men’s side of that zone, Harvard’s Michael Mosca is rooting for any doubles to get pulled in. His best bet will be if Hawkins wins the platform, though with only 5 invite spots, the margins are very thin if he doesn’t plan on earning his own way in. Kolod’s best event is the 3-meter, so there’s certainly no guarantees that he’ll “double up” and move the line down for Mosca.
In Zone B, one of the NCAA’s two best male divers (along with Stanford’s Kristian Ipsen) earned his ticket early. Duke’s Nick McCrory is into the meet after winning the men’s 3-meter. Tennessee’s Mauricio Robles is in as well.
Miami’s Zac Nees, who is in his senior season after transferring from Indiana where he was an All-American, earned a trip to NCAA’s in his best event (he’s also very good on platform and the 1-meter). Those three guys at the top can be counted on to pick up some doubled-up spots, so North Carolina’s Jack Nyquist is in good position after placing 4th on this 3-meter.
On the women’s side of the Zone, Miami’s Thea Vock got a huge lift to qualify immediately – that’s big as she’s coming off of a redshirted season with labrum surgery.
In Zone D, the Texas men started their run toward a possible NCAA Championship bid with exactly what they needed: their first two diving qualifiers in Michael Hixon and Will Chandler. The Texas men could fill up as many as 4 or 5 of those 7 Zone D male diving spots, if things go as they hope.
Missouri’s David Bonuchi, who didn’t have quite as good of an SEC Championship meet this year as he did last year, still did exactly what he needed to do – he placed 2nd on the 3-meter to secure his NCAA Qualification early.
On the women’s side on the 1-meter, Texas’ Maren Taylor got the win, pulling off a mild upset in the process. She topped Minnesota’s Maggie Keefer, who was 2nd in the event at NCAA’s last year, in what is both divers’ best event. Even more impressively, she did it in Keefer’s home pool, and the pool that will serve as the NCAA Championship site. But both were safely through to their qualifying marks, and that’s what they’ll be happiest about.
Day 2 recap:
A big turn in Zone A, with only 5 diving qualifiers on the men’s side, only the top finisher in the platform is now relevant for NCAA qualifying. Everyone else is diving for pride. If the top finisher in Zone A is not one of the four already listed below who have qualified through two days, then that top finisher goes. If that top finisher is Kolod, Hawkins, Mosca, or Butts, then Virginia Tech’s Thomas Shinholser goes. There’s no other possible scenario. Hawkins is the favorite on that platform, which is good news for the Hokies. He’ll be diving for the win and to get a 3rd teammate in.
The Virginia Tech women got their second diver in as well, with the same top two, but in a different order, in the 3-meter as we saw Monday on the 1-meter.
In Zone B, Duke’s Nick McCrory faced a bit of an upset from Miami’s Sam Dorman, which gave Dorman his NCAA invite by winning the men’s 1-meter. A couple of doubles at the top also welcomed North Carolina’s Jack Nyquist to the party.
Meanwhile, on the women’s side, where a whopping 9 spots are up for grabs, Tennessee’s Tori Lamp is still on the outside looking in. Luckily, the platform is her best event, and she was 2nd last year at NCAA’s, so her chances are strong. Miami’s Kara McCormack is also counting on a top spot in that platform to qualify; she was 6th in that event last year at NCAA’s.
In Zone D, the Texas men got their 3rd qualifier thanks to Cory Bowersox placing 2nd on the 1-meter. With so many guys already in, the Longhorns have a little bit of leverage on the platform. While Sean O’Brien is not a great platform diver, freshman Mark Anderson is. The three Longhorns already qualified can now take on an easier dive lineup (with no risk based on where the math now falls) and give Anderson the opportunity to take one of those top two spots on the platform. Will Chandler, already qualified, would be among the favorites to win that event if he competed.
In the men’s competition, only the 3m event even has a full entry list. Think about that – the national championship!!!!!! in platform the situation is pathetic: only 26 entries out of a possible 35 spots. It’s ok as long as no one thinks that the competition represents the best 35 guys on each event, which it most certainly does not.
In 1 m there are 34 guys – 1 of whom did not final in his Zone, which means he was not in the top 90 guys, yet there he is competing at NCAAs… on 3m 2 of the guys did not final in their zone, the same math, not in the top 90, and of the measly… Read more »
Is it just me or does anyone else have a hard time following this diving qualification stuff? I’m still confused on how this process works.
The whole diving selection process is confusing to me…I know swimming and diving are eternally tied together in HS and NCAA programs but why diving doesn’t have its own championship meet held at the same time as the swimming is held still makes no sense to me. Keep things exactly like they are now but score diving separately – there is no added expense to the NCAA or the universities. The subjectivity of scoring diving verses the black/white certainty of racing against the clock are totally different. It is crazy that diving events can be a factor in a swim meet. You can’t combine subjective scoring like diving with the racing against the clock. I keep reading that track and… Read more »
Don’t forget Lilybet MacRae from YALE in Zone “A”. 3rd today in 3 M, 3rd in 1M.
Hook ’em!