March 14, 2008

South Carolina freshman diver Taryn Zack secured a spot in the NCAA Championship on Friday, collecting a first-place finish in the women’s one-meter diving event at the NCAA Zone ‘B’ Diving Championship, hosted by Auburn University. Competing in a field of 46 competitors, Zack tallied a 12-dive total of 584.20 to claim the top spot.

“Taryn did a great job today, as did all of our divers, but for her to win the one-meter event as a freshman is outstanding,” South Carolina head diving coach Todd Sherritt said. “She will be competing at NCAAs next week, and we look forward to the rest of the Zone Championship meet.”

Zack led all competitiors after the preliminary round, collecting a six-dive total of 295.40. The top 18 divers following prelims advanced to the final round. Zack continued to dominate on the boards during finals, collecting a 12-dive total (unlike the regular season, the Zone Championship combines divers totals from both the preliminary and final round) of 584.20 to earn her first career zone victory. Among the competitors in the field included defending SEC champion in the event, Rachel Ware from LSU who finished fifth and defending ACC champion Brittany Viola from Miami (Fla.) who finished seventh. Zack finished fifth in the event at the SEC Championship last month.

On the men’s side, Carolina’s David Ovelson finished 11th in the three-meter event with a 12-dive total of 648.5. Christopher Colwill from Georgia won the event with a tally of 873.15, leading the field of 41 competitors. Also diving for the Gamecock men was Corry Christian who tallied a six-dive total of 278.75 in prelims, finishing 25.

Carolina continues action at the Zone ‘B’ Championship on Saturday, as the men will compete in the one-meter event and the women will take action in the three-meter competition. Both events will begin at 1 p.m. ET.