UNC’s Vazquez Leads, 10 Divers Punch Ticket To Women’s NCAAs On Day 1 of Zone B

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.

2022 NCAA Zone Diving

  • Zone A: US Naval Academy / Annapolis, Md.
    • Monday, March 7 – Wednesday, March 9
    • Live Results
  • Zone B: Georgia Tech Aquatic Center / Atlanta, Ga.
  • Zone C: Canham Natatorium / Ann Arbor, Mich.
    • Monday, March 7 – Wednesday, March 9
    • Live Results
  • Zone D: Soderholm Aquatic Center / Madison, Wisc.
    • Monday, March 7 – Wednesday, March 9
    • Live Results
  • Zone E: Wall Aquatic Center / Flagstaff, Ariz.
    • Monday, March 7 – Wednesday, March 9
    • Live Results

NCAA Zone diving action officially kicked off on Sunday with the women’s 1-meter competition over at Zone B in Atlanta, with the four other zones set to get underway on Monday.

UNC sophomore Aranza Vazquez Montano, who was the runner-up in the event at last season’s NCAAs, came out on top in the women’s 1-meter with a score of 671.95, buoyed by a massive final dive (Reverse 2 1/2 Somersault Tuck).

A total of 10 qualifying spots for NCAAs were on the line in this event, as determined by the allocations which you can read more about here.

Miami junior Mia Vallee took second to Vazquez Montano with a final score of 658.15, and South Carolina’s Brooke Schultz was third at 646.80.

Vallee was eighth on 1-meter at NCAAs last year, while Schultz, who transferred over from Arkansas this season, was third at nationals in 2021.

Two more scorers from last season’s NCAAs, Miami’s Emma Gullstrand and Duke’s Maddison Pullinger, secured invites by placing fourth and sixth, respectively.

Duke’s first-year standout Margo O’Meara, who won a pair of ACC titles last month, punched her ticket to nationals by placing fifth at 627.85, giving the Blue Devils two divers locked in for NCAAs already.

Zone B had 10 qualifying spots available in this event due to having five divers finish in the top-16 at the 2021 NCAAs. Each zone gets an automatic five spots allocated for qualification, plus the number of divers they had finish in scoring position at the previous year’s national championships. In the 1-meter last year, Zone B had Vazquez Montano, Vallee, Gullstrand, Pullinger and Florida’s Ashley McCool, who is now graduated, make the top 16.

Also earning qualification on the opening day was Georgia’s Meghan Wenzel, Georgia Tech’s Camryn Hidalgo, Florida’s Maha Amer and FIU’s Maha Gouda.

Women’s 1-Meter Results

CURRENT QUALIFIERS

Reimbursed divers are in bold, with invited-but-not-reimbursed divers in non-bold. You can read more about the distinction below.

Women
Diver Event(s)
Aranza Vazquez Montano, UNC 1m
Mia Vallee, Miami 1m
Brooke Schultz, South Carolina 1m
Emma Gullstrand, Miami 1m
Margo O’Meara, Duke 1m
Maddison Pullinger, Duke 1m
Meghan Wenzel, Georgia 1m
Camryn Hidalgo, Georgia Tech 1m
Maha Amer, Florida 1m
Maha Gouda, FIU 1m

Zone B action will continue on Monday with the women’s 3-meter and men’s 1-meter events.

SIMPLIFIED INVITE PROCEDURES

You can read a more in-depth look at the selection process here.

Effectively, each zone earns a specific number of qualifying spots in each event, based on how that Zone performed at NCAAs last year. Divers who place inside the qualifying places earn an NCAA invite. A diver invited in one event can compete at NCAAs in any other diving event where they were top 12 in their Zone meet.

The highest-placing divers earn NCAA reimbursement, while lower-placing qualifiers can compete at NCAAs, but their school must pay for their travel and lodging at the meet.

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About James Sutherland

James Sutherland

James swam five years at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, specializing in the 200 free, back and IM. He finished up his collegiate swimming career in 2018, graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics. In 2019 he completed his graduate degree in sports journalism. Prior to going to Laurentian, James swam …

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