Results
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – UConn senior diver Monica Marcello qualified for NCAA National Championships in the 1-and 3-meter Dives at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships at the US Naval Academy. Marcello will join SMU’s Andrea Podmanikova and Erin Trahan, along with Houston’s Peyton Kondis in Austin, Texas, from March 20-23 at the national meet. On the men’s side, ECU’s Gustavo Santos punched his ticket to the national meet in the 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle.
Marcello becomes the fourth female diver in conference history to advance to the NCAA Championships and first since 2016 when former Husky Alli Butera competed in the 1-and 3-meter dives.
Marcello secured second place in the preliminaries with a mark of 307.10 and then bettered her mark in the finals with a score of 632.35 to capture a runner-up finish on Monday. Marcello took second place among a tough field of 30 different schools, eight conferences and 55 total divers.
After a tough start in preliminaries in the 1-meter, Marcello worked her way back from a 12-place mark to soar into fourth place and qualify for NCAA Championships in the 1-meter dive Tuesday.
Among a field of 66 divers, Marcello posted a 256.55 in the preliminaries to advance to the finals in 12th place. The UConn captain rallied back with each of her six dives in the finals. She totaled a score of 539.80 to earn her second qualification mark in the 1-meter.
Entering the competition atop The American’s performance list in both events, Marcello also set The American’s meet record in the 3-meter with her score of 349.20 and secured a silver medal in the 1-meter at the conference’s title meet.
WOMEN’S PARTICIPANTS
Fifteen women from The American competed in NCAA Zone Diving meets from March 11-16. Fourteen qualified for the 1-meter, while 11 qualified for the 3-meter. Only two conference divers met the NCAA Zone standards in the platform dive with Houston freshman Katie Deininger, the 2019 conference champion in this event, leading the way with a score of 268.25 recorded at the conference’s title meet. Deininger and SMU’s Johanna Holloway are the only two divers in the conference to meet the NCAA Zone criteria in all three dives.
Competing in Zone D in Austin, Texas, Holloway advanced to platform finals in Zone D and finished 10h—the best finish for a Mustang diver since 2010. The freshman ended the meet with a total score of 509.35, falling within three points of punching her ticket to the NCAA Championships.
Deininger also advanced to the final of the platform dive in Zone D after posting a score of 252.70 in the prelims for an 11th-place finish. In the final, Deininger came within seven points of qualifying for the national meet, posting 504.45 points.
Katie Crown led the Mustangs, advancing to 1-meter finals on the second night of NCAA Zone D Diving Championships. Crown finished 12th in preliminary action, registering a score of 278.20 to secure her spot as part of the top 18 heading into 1-meter finals. She took 17th overall in the event with a final score of 536.20.
Houston’s Lauren Burrell finished 26th in the 1-meter at the same zone, while teammate Makayla Wallar placed 42nd. SMU’s Taylor Ohlhauser also competed in 1-meter prelims, placing 31st with a final score of 233.30.
Houston’s Burrell (19th, 296.20), Deininger (25th, 285.35) and Wallar (38th, 253.30) also competed in the 3-meter portion of the Zone D meet on the first day. SMU’s Crown, Ohlhauser and Johanna Holloway joined them in the competition. Crown finished 22nd with a career-best 288.90 and Ohlhauser took 50th. Holloway placed 28th, scoring 276.65 points.
Representing The American in Zone B in Auburn, Ala., for ECU was Mary White and Mary Warker. Both of them competed in the 1-and 3-meter dives. White placed 39th in the 3-meter (174.90), while Warker placed 40th (173.15). In the 1-meter, Warker led the Pirates with a 33rd-place finish (205.35), while White placed 35th (184.10).
UConn’s Erin Clifford (27th), Kamrin Dawkins (40th) and Elizabeth Drab (43) all competed in the preliminary round of Zones but did not finish high enough (top-18) to reach the finals of the 3-meter.
Cincinnati competed in Zone C in West Lafayette, Ind., as Claire Schuermann placed 25th in the 3-meter and 31st in the 1-meter. Patricia Roscoe placed 45th in the 3-meter and 49th in the 1-meter.
MEN’S PARTICIPANTS
The American’s 2019 Most Outstanding Diver and Co-Freshman of the Year, Parker Hardigree of SMU, competed on both 1-and 3-meter dives in postseason action in Zone D, but did not qualify for this month's NCAA Championships. He earned his highest placement of the event in the 3-meter, finishing 22nd with a six-round 299.30. On 1-meter, he finished 24th overall with a final score of 262.85.
ECU’s Luke Stivers finished 25th (1-meter) and 34th (3-meter), while teammate Devin Nugent placed 32nd (3-meter) and 29th (1-meter) in Zone B. Stivers scored 257.05 in the 1-meter and 245.95 in the 3-meter. Nugent scored 240.05 in the 1-meter and 253.15 in the 3-meter.