LUJAN PLACES SIXTH IN WOMEN'S PLATFORM AT ZONE B CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 7, 2018
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. –
University of South Carolina junior Mikaela Lujan became the second Gamecock diver to qualify for the NCAA Championships with a sixth-place finish in the women’s platform competition on Wednesday, the final day of the NCAA Zone B Championships. South Carolina finished atop the overall women’s team standings with 62.00 team points while the Gamecocks ended the competition in fifth place in the combined men’s and women’s overall standings.
Lujan’s qualifying performance in the platform competition also qualifies her to compete in the women’s 1-meter dive after she finished in 10th place in that event on Monday.
DAY 3 RECAP
Lujan finished the prelims in seventh place with a total score of 240.40 from her five dives. On her initial dive, a back 2 ½ somersault 1 ½ twist pike, she garnered a total score of 62.40 from the five judges with a 3.2 degree of difficulty.
Lujan repeated her back 2 ½, 1 ½ twist pike on her first dive of the next round and averaged a score of 49.97 during the finals to finish with a total score of 490.25, putting her in sixth place and into qualifying position.
This marks the first time in Lujan’s career that she has qualified for the NCAA Championships in the platform after qualifying for the NCAAs on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards last season.
QUOTABLES
“Michaela did a wonderful job today. This was a much tougher event than it was a year ago, and what she did here today was very impressive. I’m very proud of the way she performed and thought she handled herself well throughout the contest. Overall it was a good week, and we’re looking forward to the NCAAs.” — HEAD DIVING COACH Todd Sherritt –
UP NEXT FOR CAROLINA
Lujan and senior Julia Vincent will now move on to compete in the NCAA Division I Championships in Columbus, Ohio, on March 21-24 at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
