Sehn And Pozdniakova Win On Saturday's Zone D Action

Houston: Diving’s Pozdniakova Continues to Dominate at Zone D Diving Championships
University of Houston junior diver Anastasia Pozdniakova continued to dominate at the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships on the campus of Missouri Saturday after she won the 1-meter diving event.
 
Pozdniakova captured first in the 1-meter event with 676.15 points, besting her previous program and personal record of 614.25 set at the Zone D Diving Championships at Texas in 2007.
 
In the event, she was the only diver to exceed 600 points and was 78.5 points higher than second-place finisher Kathryn Kelly from Texas.
 
Sophomore Courtney Forcucci scored a personal-best 562.30 points to capture fifth place in the 1-meter event.
 
Freshman Jessalyn Almond scored 215.05 points in the preliminaries and did not compete in the finals, finishing 24th in the event.
 
The divers will compete in the platform event Sunday for the final event of the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships, beginning at 10 a.m. Check UHCougars.com for complete recap following the event.

Cyclone Divers Continue Zone Diving Competition
Iowa State divers Tien Tran and Kali Fryklund continued their pursuit to qualify for the NCAA Championships Saturday on 1-meter. For the second day in a row, Tran finished one spot outside of qualifying for the finals with her preliminary score of 226.85 being 19th. Fryklund took 21st place (223.30).

“Kali has had a good weekend, her scores may not be as high but she is doing well,” said diving coach Jeff Warrick. “She is in the right mindset and has the right attitude and keep doing what she has been doing. Tien needs to come in and be ready to do what she did at conference and she has to have that desire to compete.”

The Cyclone divers will compete on platform tomorrow with competition slated to begin at 10 a.m. This is the divers’ final chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships.

Kansas' Mertz Places Fifth on the 1M Board at the NCAA Zones
Kansas (7-2) diving competed in the one meter event Saturday at the NCAA Zone Diving meet in Columbia, Mo.  KU was led by sophomore Erin Mertz, who earned a fifth-place finish with a score of 567.50 points.

Like the three meter competition, 28 divers participated in the one meter event, of which 18 qualified for the event finals.  All three Jayhawk divers qualified for the one meter finals.

Mertz's fifth-place finish will put her in a position to qualify for an NCAA Championships berth.  Meghan Proehl had a solid outing as well, finishing eighth with 544.05 points.  Hannah McMacken placed 12th with 522.70 points.

Houston's Anastasia Pozdniakova continued her run as the Zones' top diver, placing first on the one meter board with 676.15 points.  Second place belonged to Kathryn Kelly of Texas, who scored 598.65 points.
 
Texas Men: Wilcox clinches NCAA Championships berth at NCAA Zone Diving Meet
University of Texas senior diver Jonathan Wilcox took third in the men’s three-meter diving event to clinch a NCAA Championships berth Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Zone “D” Diving Meet at the Mizzou Aquatics Center. 

Wilcox sealed his second consecutive NCAA berth as a Longhorn by totaling 750.75 points for third place.  Only the top-two finishers in Saturday’s three-meter event were guaranteed to receive NCAA bids, but since Saturday’s three-meter winner, Eric Sehn of Texas A&M, had qualified on Friday, Wilcox’s third-place finish allowed him to become the fourth NCAA Championships qualifier from Zone “D”.  UT freshman Drew Livingston, who qualified for the NCAA Championships on Friday, took fifth with 711.30 points. 

Sophomore Matt Cooper placed seventh with 687.25 points, and junior Mike Wong took ninth with 639.40 points.  Sophomore Matt Cardell placed 11th with 636.30 points.  With four of the five available NCAA berths having been secured from NCAA Zone “D”, Cooper, Wong or Cardell will be required to win Sunday’s platform event to advance to the upcoming NCAA Championships.  
 
Texas Women: Kelly clinches bid for NCAA Championships at NCAA Zone Diving Meet
University of Texas senior All-America diver Kathryn Kelly secured her fourth consecutive berth to compete at the NCAA Championships Saturday by taking second in the women’s one-meter event at the NCAA Zone “D” Diving Meet at the Mizzou Aquatics Center.

Kelly nailed down one of six remaining bids up for grabs from Zone “D” by totaling 598.65 points for second place.  Kelly earned All-America honors in the one-meter event in 2007 and placed fourth in the one-meter event and third in the three-meter event at the 2008 NCAA Championships.   

Senior Jessica Livingston, who secured her NCAA Championships berth on Friday by claiming the three-meter event, took seventh on Saturday with 560.80 points.  Freshman Shelby Cullinan placed 16th in the one-meter event with 494.10 points. 

Cullinan would lock up a NCAA Championships berth by placing in the top three in Sunday’s platform diving finals.  Cullinan could qualify for the NCAA Championships even without a top-three platform finish depending on Sunday’s outcome.

Texas A&M: Patrick Takes Fourth on One-Meter at Zone D Diving Meet
Texas A&M sophomore diver Jaele Patrick (Lilydale, Victoria, Australia) earned a fourth-place finish on the one-meter springboard on day two of the Zone D Diving Championships being held at the Mizzou Aquatic Center this weekend.
 
Patrick, who punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships with a third-place finish on the three-meter yesterday, earned a score of 577.70, putting her behind only Anastasia Pozdniakova of Houston (676.15), Big 12 champion Kathryn Kelly of Texas (598.65), and Kendra Melynchuk of Missouri (584.10).
 
Sophomore Emily Watson (Frisco) earned a ninth-place finish amongst the 29-diver field after totaling a score of 524.85. Watson’s score of 278.20 during the finals portion of the competition proved to be a lifetime-best.
 
Junior Haley Haynes (The Woodlands) and freshman Lorena Lujan (San Antonio) placed 14th and 15th with scores of 514.00 and 510.60, respectively. Lujan’s finals score of 266.45 was a personal best on the one-meter.
 
In the race for the 10 spots to the NCAA Championships, Jaele Patrick is ranked fourth according to the qualifying formula. With her finish today, Emily Watson ranks 13th while Lorena Lujan ranks 15th.
 
The top three finishers on the platform on Sunday are guaranteed a spot to the NCAA Championships. The platform competition is slated to begin at 10 a.m. at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.