It doesn’t get much closer.LSU freshman diver Rebecca St. Germain missed qualifying for the NCAA swimming championships by one spot — and less than a point.St. Germain competed in three events this weekend at the NCAA Zone ‘D’ Diving Regional, along with sophomore Brian Gemberling, freshman Elle Schmidt and freshman Jesse Lyman.The Southeastern Conference Female Freshman Diver of the Year placed ninth in the women’s 1-meter springboard, seventh in the 3-meter springboard and 14th in the platform.She didn’t qualify for an automatic invitation, but Germain’s performance allowed her to grab a spot as a second alternate for the championship meet.”Becca was awesome this weekend,” LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said in a news release. “Unfortunately, she missed qualifying for NCAA’s as a freshman by just 65 one-hundredths of a point in 3-meter.”
The Tigers and Lady Tigers won’t be sending any divers to the meet, but Shaffer said he feels optimistic about the future of his young diving group.”We have a young group, but I thought the kids competed really well,” Shaffer said. “Considering our youth, I’m optimistic going forward, and I think we will see some great things from this group in the future.”Gemberling had two days of strong competition with 10th place finishes in the men’s 3-meter springboard and 1-meter springboard. Lyman finished 20th in the men’s 3-meter springboard and 18th in the 1-meter springboard. Schmidt placed 21st in the women’s 1-meter.Schmidt placed 21st in the women’s 1-meter springboard and 29th in the 3-meter springboard for the Lady Tigers.
Shaffer said he considered the performances good but not perfect in a meet that demanded perfection due to the quality of competition.”Considering our youth and inexperience, I thought we did a good job and competed well,” Shaffer. “Both Becca and Brian missed on one dive, and at this level, there is no room for mistakes, but I thought both represented LSU really well.”
Only eight men and 12 women of the 64 total competitors received automatic qualifying bids to the NCAA championship meet.The Zone Diving Regional capped off a spectacular season for LSU divers. St. Germain’s performances in the 1-meter springboard, 3-meter springboard and platform rank top five in LSU history.Gemberling broke the school record in the 3-meter springboard and put himself in the LSU history books with top three marks in the 1-meter springboard and platform.The women’s NCAA championships will be held March 18-20 in West Lafayette, Ind. The men’s championship meet will follow the week after, held March 25-27 in Columbus, Ohio.
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Contact Katherine Terrell at [email protected]