2025 NCAA Zone Diving Championships
While the 2025 NCAA Championship swimming qualifiers are all but locked in, the divers are competing over the next few days to secure their spots. Unlike in swimming, divers are not able to qualify to the NCAA’s during the regular season. The nature of diving is such that the judging cannot be fully standardized across the nation, so the NCAA hosts five different “zone” meets across the nation to award Championship qualification. The locations of each of the meets cover a certain regional area and teams must attend their assigned zone location.
Each event within each zone is awarded a certain amount of automatic qualifying spots. In the interest of simplicity, the number of qualifying spots zones receive are a reflection of how well divers from that zone placed at the previous NCAA Championships. No matter how many automatic qualifying spots a zone has, athletes who place in the top 12 but are outside of the qualifying standard are basically awarded what is the equivalent to a “B” cut in swimming. Meaning, as long as they are a qualifier in one event, they may compete in others they placed top 12 in at zones.
And if the NCAA qualifying procedures for divers weren’t complicated enough as is, the zone meet is structured slightly differently than other regular season and championship meets. This post-season competition is run as a prelims-finals meet and cumulative scoring. This means each dive counts equally and consistency is key to success at this meet.
***Divers listed below with a star indicates those who achieved what is essentially their “B” cut***
Zone B (Auburn, AL)
Men’s 1 Meter (7 automatic qualifying spots):
- Maxwell Flory (Miami) – 720.15
- Max Fowler (Georgia Tech) – 705.15
- Conor Gesing (Florida) – 699.30
- Talan Blackmon (Auburn) – 682.70
- Bennett Greene (Tennessee) – 681.40
- Nicholas Stone (Tennessee) – 678.90
- Matthew Bray (Georgia) – 675.25
- Renato Calderaro (Georgia) – 672.75*
- Peyton Donald (Florida) – 668.10*
- Hayden Schroeder (Florida State) – 666.15*
- Jesus Gonzalez (Florida) – 664.35*
- Ethan Swart (Auburn) – 657.50*
This event was a fairly even one across schools in this zone with the seven automatic qualifiers representing six different universities. This event went as expected for the most part, with ACC champions Flory and Fowler clinching their spots, as well as SEC 1 meter champion, Conor Gesing giving the Florida Gators their first diving qualifier.
Zone B was the first to get started with official competition, but tomorrow divers and coaches across the NCAA will be busy as all five zone meets will feature full days of competition.
