The NCAA Zone B Diving Meet took place this weekend giving 13 men and 11 women the chance to advance to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.
The three-day competition was located in Atlanta at Georgia Tech’s Aquatic Center.
The men tackled the 1-meter preliminaries Friday morning followed by a finals session in the afternoon. The women spent Friday competing in the 3-meter.
Hali Saucier finished the first day as the women’s highest finisher, taking ninth place with a score of 532.50 in the 1-meter finals.
Saturday the men and women flipped events when the men took on the 3-meter competition and the women in the 1-meter.
Senior Jessica Wantz needed just two of the three days to assure herself a spot in the diving championship next week. Wantz competed with 42 other divers and finished fourth with a 567.70 mark. The senior diver will compete in her final NCAA Diving Championship in the 1-meter springboard.
Freshman Niko Dalman had a successful Saturday for the men’s team, posting a 290.70 in the 3-meter. The mark gave Dalman a 19th place finish for day two.
The team wrapped up the three-day event Sunday with the platform competition.
Dalman maintained his excellence on Sunday. His ninth place finish with a score of 429.10 also qualified him as the only freshman to qualify for the championship.
“It was a phenomenal performance by Niko,” said diving coach Doug Shaffer in a press release. “He’s worked hard all year long and made significant results every time out.”
Wantz will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., for the Women’s Championship beginning Thursday.
Dalman will represent the men’s team in Minneapolis, Minn., March 24-26.