Four Gamecocks Head to NCAA Zone Diving Championships
Atlanta, Ga. – Four South Carolina divers are in Atlanta, Ga., to compete in NCAA Zone B Diving Championships. They will compete for spots in the NCAA Championships coming up March 16-19 for the women and March 23-26 for the men. The meet will take place at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center and will run March 6-9.
There are five zone meets across the country that will be occurring this week. Each zone has five women and four men automatic qualifiers in each event and additional spots are granted to zones based on how that zone did in NCAAs the previous year.
In Zone B on the women’s side, 10 divers will qualify in the 1-meter, 10 in the 3-meter, and nine on the platform. On the men’s side eight divers will qualify in the 1-meter, 11 in the 3-meter, and seven on the platform. There will be 64 women in the competition and 45 men.
Graduate Brooke Schultz and freshman Sophie Verzyl will represent the Gamecock women. Both women qualified on the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events.
During the regular season, Verzyl achieved eight zone qualifying scores in the 1-meter and had four first-place finishes in the event. She also qualified for the finals at SECs in that event in which she finished seventh overall. In the 3-meter Verzyl also earned eight zone qualifying scores and had four first-place finishes.
Schultz joined the Gamecocks in January and earned four zone qualifying scores in the 1-meter dive with all of them being first-place finishes. She also gathered four zone qualifying scores in the 3-meter dive with three first-place finishes. During the SECs, Schultz was dominant in the springboard events, placing first in both the preliminary and final rounds of both events. During her sweep of the spring board events, she set new school and pool records in the 3-meter dive.
Representing the Gamecock men will be senior Alex Claus and junior Manny Vazquez Bas. Claus qualified on the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards, while Vazquez qualified on both springboard events as well as the platform.
During the regular season, Claus earned three zone qualifying scores in the 1-meter dive and had two first-place finishes. He qualified for the 3-meter dive with a first-place score of 333.73 against Missouri.
Vazquez earned five zone qualifying scores in the 1-meter dive during the regular season and had two first-place finishes in the event. In the 3-meter, he achieved six qualifying scores. For the platform dive, Vazquez earned two zone qualifying scores during the Tennessee Invitational and the Tennessee Diving Invitational. During the SECs, Vazquez earned a bronze medal in the platform dive with a school-record score of 403.95.
Schedule
Sunday, March 6
Women’s 1-meter prelim – 2:00 p.m.
Women’s 1-meter final – 4:45 p.m.
Monday, March 7
Men’s 1-meter prelim – 11:00 a.m.
Men’s 1-meter final – 1:15 p.m.
Women’s 3-meter prelim – 3:15 p.m.
Women’s 3-meter final – 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 8
Men’s 3-meter prelim – 11:00 a.m.
Men’s 3-meter final – 1:15 p.m.
Women’s Platform prelim – 3:15 p.m.
Women’s Platform final – 5:20 p.m.
Wednesday , March 9
Men’s Platform prelim – 11:00 a.m.
Men’s Platform final – 1:15 p.m.
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