Though we’re not DiveDove, we do dabble in diving coverage, and as diving can have a major impact on the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, we cover NCAA Zone Diving – mainly through the lens of how national diving qualifiers could impact the team points battles later this month.
2019 NCAA ZONE DIVING
- Zones A, B, D, E: Monday, March 11 – Wednesday, March 13
- Zone C: Thursday, March 14 – Saturday, March 16
- Host schools with live results links:
- Zone A: U.S. Naval Academy – Annapolis, MD
- Zone B: Auburn University – Auburn, AL
- Zone C: Purdue University – West Lafayette, IN
- Zone D: University of Texas – Austin, TX
- Zone E: Northern Arizona University – Flagstaff, AZ
- Revisit our NCAA selection primer
The Tennessee men have qualified two divers to NCAAs: returning All-American Colin Zeng and NCAA Championships rookie Will Hallam.
Zeng was second and Hallam fifth at the Zone B Championships. The Vols also have Matthew Wade in the mix for an invite – he was seventh today (only the top six qualify on 1-meter) but would be eligible to dive this event at NCAAs if he qualifies in a different event this week.
Miami’s Briadam Herrera won the men’s 1-meter today. Herrera took a medical redshirt last season, but prior to that was an NCAA runner-up in both 3-meter as a junior. He should be a big scorer later this month and has officially punched his ticket to nationals.
Senior Evan Moretti of Duke is a returning NCAA scorer. He’s qualified after a third-place showing.
Eight women made the cut, led by freshman Emily Grund of UNC. Grund, an NCAA rookie, beat two returning NCAA scorers today. That would suggest she’s in the hunt to score points this season, at least on 3-meter.
The two returning scorers are Florida’s Brooke Madden (fourth today) and Florida State’s Molly Carlson (fifth today). Both are qualified for NCAAs after day 1 of Zones. Second was Miami’s Alicia Blagg, a redshirt sophomore.
Duke qualified two women’s divers.
Current Qualifiers
Simplified Qualifying Procedures
Each zone earns a certain number of NCAA qualifying spots based on how that zone has performed at NCAAs in the past. Each of the three diving events will have its own number of qualifiers from each zone.
If a diver is invited in one event, they can compete at NCAAs in any other event where they finish top 12 in their zone.
Reimbursement vs invited slots don’t mean much from a spectator perspective – both can compete at NCAAs. Reimbursement slots earn NCAA reimbursement to cover the athlete’s trip to NCAAs, while invited athletes are eligible to compete, but would have to travel to the meet on the school’s dime.
Here are the qualifying allotments per zone and the reimbursement spots per zone:
QUALIFYING SPOTS PER ZONE
| WOMEN’S | 1M | 3M | PLATFORM | MEN’S | 1M | 3M | PLATFORM |
| Zone A | 6 | 5 | 5 | Zone A | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Zone B | 9 | 8 | 6 | Zone B | 6 | 7 | 9 |
| Zone C | 9 | 8 | 12 | Zone C | 11 | 8 | 8 |
| Zone D | 9 | 12 | 9 | Zone D | 9 | 11 | 9 |
| Zone E | 8 | 8 | 9 | Zone E | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Reimbursement Spots Per Zone
| Women | Men | |
| Zone A | 5 | 5 |
| Zone B | 6 | 7 |
| Zone C | 10 | 8 |
| Zone D | 8 | 10 |
| Zone E | 11 | 5 |
YeeeHaaaw! Go ManVolDivers!!! Bring that dead coonskin cap alive again!!!
Go Vols! The cap will look good on the podium at ncaas.
Wish he’d wear a coonskin and not a porcupine skin cap!