Dumais of Stanford and Friesen of Hawaii Win On Day One of Zone E

Air Force: Day One Concludes at 2009 NCAA?Zone E?Diving Regionals
With a 17th-place finish, junior Kyle Van Valkenburg (Tucson,?Ariz.) was Air Force’s top performer on day one of the 2009 NCAA?Zone E Diving Regionals, being held at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center, on the campus of the University of Texas.

Van Valkenburg posted a score of 254.80 in the preliminaries of the men’s 1-meter dive to move into the finals, before finishing with a score of 214.70. Meanwhile, classmate David Arlington (Eagle River, Alaska) also competed on the 1-meter springboard, placing 23rd overall with a preliminary score of 214.70.

Dwight Dumais of Stanford took first place in the men’s 1-meter event, while Hawaii’s Emma Friesen won on the women’s 3-meter springboard. Dumais, a two-time All-American at 1-meter, posted a score of 715.40 to win his first zone championship, while Arizona’s Ben Grado (658.20) and USC’s?Harrison Jones (633.95) finished second and third, respectively, on the men’s 1-meter springboard.

Meanwhile, Friesen, the third-place finisher at 3-meters in 2008, claimed her first zone title with a score of 594.20. Defending zone champion Marisa Samaniego of UCLA was the runner-up in the women’s 3-meter with a score of 591.65, while USC’s Victoria Ishimatsu placed third with a mark of 583.05.

Action at the Zone E?meet continues Friday with the men’s 3-meter springboard and the women’s 1-meter event.

Arizona State: Divers Finish Day One of NCAA Zone Meet
Day one of the NCAA Zone E Championships concluded with three Arizona State divers making the finals. The top three finishers in each event are guaranteed a spot at the NCAA Championships.
 
Senior All-American Micky Benedetti was the highest placing Sun Devil. The Italian took fourth in the 1-meter. Benedetti scored 309.80 points in the preliminary round and finished the day with 632.25 points total.
 
Brittany Jumer took seventh in the women’s 3-meter. The Minnesotan tallied 556.80 points overall. Senior Erin Hobbs finished 14th with 498.45 points. Cameron Bradshaw also competed in the men’s 1-meter, scoring 213.25 points.
 
The Zone E Championships continue through Saturday.

BYU: Three Cougar Finalists
Three of the five BYU divers made it to finals on Thursday’s competition at the Zone E NCAA Qualifying Championships, with one diver in the top 10.

“They did well,” said BYU diving coach Keith Russell. “It wasn’t our best day, but yet I think we did the best of everyone in the conference.”

There were 27 male divers and 40 female divers and the top 18 were able to make it to finals. In Thursday’s competition, five Cougars competed with three making it to finals.

Tawni Jones led the way, placing sixth overall on the 3-meter board. She was ranked fourth going into the finals, however she dropped to sixth with a total score of 559.15. Jones posted a 280.10 in the prelims.

“Tawni did a good job,” said Russell. “She just missed one dive to keep her from automatically making it to the NCAAs. She still could make it if the same divers do well tomorrow.”

Sam Hatch led the men placing 12th in prelims and finals on the 1-meter board with a point total of 536.20. He scored a 271.95 during the prelims.

“Sam did a nice job, but the competition was doing really big dives,” said Russell. “He did exactly what I was hoping for.”

Ron Morris placed 17th in prelims with a score of 256.05 and finished 16th overall with a total score of 509.10.

Emily Woods finished 23rd on the 3-meter board in the prelims with a score of 226.65, unable to make it to the finals. Ava Jackman placed 31st in the prelims with a score of 210.20.

In Friday’s competition the men will be competing on the 3-meter board and the women on the 1-meter board. Jackman placed first at the MWC Championships on the 1-meter board and will look to do well at the same height.

CAL DIVER TAYLOR DEHN PLACES SIXTH IN ZONE E CHAMPIONSHIPSONE-METER
California sophomore diver Taylor Dehn paced the Golden Bears with a sixth place finish in the NCAA Zone E Championshipsone-meter competition Thursday in Austin, Texas. Dehn ended with a score of 577.35 after notching a mark of 292.20 in the morning’s preliminary round.

Sophomore Thomas Henninger, the November and December Pac-10 Diver of the Month, placed 10th after recording a score of 550.85. Henninger had a morning round of 278.20. Freshman Joe Quattrocchi finished 14th with a total of 528.60 after a prelim score of 261.25.

At the Feb. 25 Pac-10 Diving Championships, Henninger had placed seventh, Dehn 10th and Quattrocchi 11 th on the one-meter board.

The Bearsmens diver will next compete on the three-meter board on Friday, March 13, and then finish with the platform competition on Saturday, March 14.

USC: Freshmen Harrison Jones and Victoria Ishimatsu Both Qualify for Upcoming Men’s and Women’s NCAA
USC freshmen Harrison Jones and Victoria Ishimatsu both qualified for the upcoming Men’s and Women’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, respectively, during the first day of competition at the 2009 NCAA Zone E Diving Regionals on Thursday (March 12) at the Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas.
 
Jones, the 2009 Pac-10 champion on platform, was third on men’s 1-meter with 633.95 points while Ishimatsu, the 2009 Pac-10 champion on 3-meter, was third on women’s 3-meter with 583.05 points. Both finishes automatically qualified them for the NCAA Championships. The women’s NCAAs are scheduled for March 19-21 and the men’s March 26-28. Both are at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.
 
Sophomore Steven Starks was eighth on 1-meter (563.30). Freshman Michela Fossati-Bellani was 15th on 3-meter (497.15).
 
Friday’s events feature men’s 3-meter and women’s 1-meter. Platform is scheduled for Saturday.

Utah: Diving Finishes First Day of NCAA Zone E Diving Championships
The Utah women’s diving team was unable to make it past the preliminary round of 3-meter diving at the 2009 NCAA Zone E Diving Championships on Thursday.

Kwan Ling Yu (Yuen Long, Hong Kong) was the highest scorer for the Utes with her score of 220.35, which earned her 28th place. The top 18 scores continued to the finals of the event. Jessica Schenk (Park City, Utah) scored 203.10 in the event, finishing in 34th. Anna Braszkiewicz (Warsaw, Poland) was right behind Schenk in 35th with her score of 201.05.

“The first day is always hard on this level of competition,” said head coach Greg Winslow. “Our girls have worked hard and we hope they can get past today and do well in the other events.”

The women’s diving team continues competition tomorrow in the 1-meter dive.

Wyoming: Diving Wraps-up Day One at NCAA Zone "E" Championships
In the first of three days of the NCAA Zone "E" Championships, three Wyoming divers made the final rounds. The Cowgirls competed on three-meter while Cowboys were on the one-meter springboard.

Two juniors made the final round for the Cowgirls today. Stephanie Ortiz and Emily Huth made the final round after placing seventh and eighth respectively in the preliminary round. Ortiz led the way for the Cowgirls in the final round and finished tenth with a score of 535.45. Huth finished in 18th with a dive total of 419.10.

"The women competed well and really are putting Wyoming diving on the map," said UW diving coach Ben Herdt. "In the final round Stephanie and Emily both did really well until Emily was injured. She couldn’t dive anymore, but before that both Stephanie and Emily competed like they wanted to advance to the NCAA Championships."

For the Cowboys, senior Tyler Miller led the way. Miller placed ninth with a score of 551.80 in the final round. Miller was the top finisher from the Mountain West Conference on the one-meter board.

Sophomores Mark Murdock and Kyle Bogner also dove on one-meter, but did not make the final round. Murdock totaled a score of 248.75 and finished 19th, while Bogner was 22nd with a score of 228.55.

"Tyler did very well and placed higher than the men’s one-meter champion at the conference meet. He showed that he belongs here as well," said Herdt. "One-meter isn’t one of Mark strengths and Kyle had an off day, but we will bounce back and get ready for tomorrow."

The zone championships will continue tomorrow in Austin, Texas. The Cowgirls will take their turn on one-meter, while the Cowboys compete on three-meter.