Buffalo Hosts Zone Diving Championships This Weekend

BUFFALO, NY – The Alumni Arena Natatorium at the University at Buffalo will serve as the host site for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships this weekend. Competition in men's and women's one- and three-meter and platform diving will be held Friday, March 9 through Sunday, March 11 starting at noon each day.

A total of 48 men's divers from 27 schools and 10 conferences will compete while the women's field will consist of 47 divers from 26 schools and 11 conferences.

Among those divers in the men's field are eight who won league titles at their respective conference championships over the past two weeks. Five swept the one- and three-meter events including Logan Shinholser of Virginia Tech (Atlantic Coast Conference), Mike Murphy of St. Bonaventure (Atlantic 10), Derrick Butts of George Mason (Colonial Athletic Association), Chris Nguyen of Army (Patriot League) and Andrew Eckhoff of Maryland-Baltimore County (America East). Also included in the men's field are Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions Ian O'Rourke of Niagara (one-meter) and Brendan Cavallaro of Rider (three-meter) and Ivy League three-meter champion Stevie Vines of Princeton.

Women's divers Melinda Matyas of Boston University (America East) and Michaela Butler of Massachusetts (Atlantic 10) won both the one- and three-meter events at their respective league meets in February. Other league champions in the women's field include CAA champions Nicole Jotso (one-meter) and Kimberly Helfrich (three-meter) of James Madison, Ivy League champions Christina Kirkwood (one-meter) of Princeton and Rachel Rosenberg (three-meter) of Yale, Patriot League three-meter champion Courtney Vandament of Navy, Big East one-meter champion Danielle Cecco of Connecticut and ACC one-meter champion Kaylea Arnett of Virginia Tech.

Competing for the University at Buffalo will be men's divers Colin Patrican and Chris Iafrati and Ava Giachino and Rachel Eckert from the women's team. 

All springboard diving events will consist of a preliminary round of six dives using all five groups. The top 18 finishers from the preliminary round will advance to the final round and will perform a second list of six dives using all five groups. The men's platform event will consist of a preliminary round of six dives using all six groups. The women's platform event will consist of a preliminary round of five dives using five different groups. The top 12 finishers from the platform preliminary rounds will advance to the final round and will perform a second list of six dives (men) or five dives (women).

Friday's events will consist of the women's one-meter and men's three-meter events while the women's three-meter and men's one-meter competitions will be held on Saturday. Men's and women's platform diving will be held on Sunday.

Four spots in both fields for the NCAA Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Championships have been allocated to Zone A, which stretches from New England through Virginia. Four other regional competitions, in Auburn, AL, Bloomington, IN, Iowa City, IA and Colorado Springs, CO, are also being held this weekend to determine the national field.