Spartan Divers Compete In NCAA Diving Zone C Preliminaries

March 10, 2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Six Michigan State divers competed in the NCAA Zone C Diving Qualifying Meet hosted by Ohio State at the Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion on Friday, as the men took to the 1-meter board and the women competed on the 3-meter board. The top 18 divers in the preliminaries qualify for the zone finals. The competition determines which divers will continue to the NCAA championships. The women's championships will be held March 16-18, in Athens, Ga., while the men's championships will take place March 23-25, in Atlanta, Ga. NCAA championship qualifiers will be determined at the conclusion of the zone events.

Katie Edwards was the top finisher for State, placing 13th place with a score of 502.00. Danielle Williams and Alycia Mokedanz took 17th (486.05) and 18th (471.75), respectively, while Amy Schmidt barely missed the cut-off placing 20th. Matt Akerley and Tylor Fick represented the men's team, but were unable to crack the top 18.

"Katie (Edwards) stepped her performance from her last outing at the Big Ten Diving Championships today," diving coach Eric Best stated. "The field is very competitive, but we have several quality divers. Any one of our women could make the championship cut tomorrow. I am excited to see what is in store."

NCAA Zone C Diving Qualifying Meet continues tomorrow at 11 a.m. with the women competing on the 3-meter and the men competing on the 1-meter.