Gamecock Divers in Search of NCAA Qualifications at Zone B Championships
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina diving will compete this weekend at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships in Knoxville, Tenn., in search of a qualifying spot at the NCAA Championships. The event will run March 5-8 at the Allen Jones Aquatic Center at the University of Tennessee.
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. This year, Zone B women will have 11 qualifiers on the 1-meter, nine on the 3-meter, and 6 on the platform. The Zone B men will have seven on the 1-meter, eight on the 3-meter, and nine on the platform.
Representing South Carolina’s women will be sophomores Blair Isenhour and Sophie Verzyl as well as graduate Brooke Schultz.
This is be Isenhour’s first appearance at the Zone B Championships. She has earned entries into both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events. She has a season-high score of 275.10 on the 1-meter and 305.25 on the 3-meter.
Verzyl will be making her second appearance at Zones. She qualified on the the 1-meter and 3-meter in 2022 and achieved the same feat this year. In 2022, Verzyl made the finals of the 1-meter at the championships but came up just short of the cut, placing 10th in the finals. She recently earned a silver medal on the 3-meter board at the SEC Championships
Schultz is no stranger to the Zone Championships, having competed in them on numerous occasions before. The graduate is coming off of her fourth springboard sweep at the SECs in February. At this event last season, Schultz won the 3-meter event and placed third in the 1-meter event, giving her berths at both springboard competitions at the 2022 NCAAs.
For the men, freshman Charley Bayer and senior Manny Vazquez Bas will both compete. Bayer is making his first Zone appearance and earned entries in both of the springboard events. He has a career-best score of 363.53 on the 1-meter board and 387.53 on the 3-meter board.
Vazquez Bas has earned entries into all three men’s diving competitions at the event – 1-meter, 3-meter, and platform. He is coming off of a silver medal winning performance in the platform at the SEC Championships that earned him a new school record score. At the Zone meet last year, Vazquez Bas made it to the finals of all three events, finishing 17th in the 1-meter, 8th in the 3-meter, and 4th in the platform. He earned NCAA qualifications in both the 3-meter and platform events for his performances in 2022.
The event will be streamed Monday through Wednesday. Links to the stream can be found below.
For all the latest South Carolina swimming and diving information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockSwim).
Schedule of Events
Sunday, March 5
2 p.m. – Men’s 1-Meter Prelims
4:15 p.m. – Men’s 1-Meter Finals
Monday, March 6
11 a.m. – Women’s 1-Meter Prelims
2 p.m. – Women’s 1-Meter Finals
4 p.m. – Men’s 3-Meter Prelims
6:15 p.m. – Men’s 3-Meter Finals
Tuesday, March 7
11 a.m. – Women’s 3-Meter Prelims
2 p.m. – Women’s 3-Meter Finals
4 p.m. – Men’s Platform Prelims
6:15 p.m. – Men’s Platform Finals
Wednesday, March 8
11 a.m. – Women’s Platform Prelims
1 p.m. – Women’s Platform Finals
