The UB dive team sent five divers to the 3-day NCAA Zone A Diving Championships, which lasted from Wednesday, March 15 to Saturday, March 22. The Bulls sent a team composed of senior Mari Kwak, senior Presley Dorsett, senior Kaylee Donovan, junior Mallory Hanna and sophomore Sophie Meuwissen.
Divers cannot qualify for the NCAA Championships during the regular season due to the subjective nature of judging across the nation. After the regular season, the NCAA organizes five regional “zone meets,” divided by location. Each zone meet awards a specific number of automatic qualifying spots, determined by how divers from that zone performed in the previous NCAA Championships.
Kwak was the only Bull to qualify in all three events: 1-meter, 3-meter and platform. Kwak qualified for the springboard events in the first meet of the season, and the platform event at the UB Diving Invitational in January after winning the finals.
Dorsett, Meuwissen and Hanna all qualified for the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events. Donovan qualified for the 3-meter springboard event.
Kwak was the only Bull to advance to the 3-meter finals, ultimately placing seventh. Unfortunately, Zone A only had six qualifying spots for the 3-meter diving event.
The 1-meter finals featured both Meuwissen and Kwak. Meuwissen placed 15th; and Kwak placed eighth, missing the qualification cutoff by just one place once again.
Although none of the UB divers qualified for the NCAA Championships, the Bulls placed seventh overall at the meet, competing against the top schools in the North East. This meet marked the end of a successful season for Buffalo’s diving program.
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