Eastern Michigan Athletics
Thursday, March 14
West Lafayette, Ind.
1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
at
NCAA Zone C Diving Championships
Photo by: Steven King/Steve King Studios
Diving Heads to NCAA Zone C Championships
3/12/2019 10:25:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Eagles send four divers to compete for a chance at qualifying for the NCAA Championships
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan women's diving team heads to the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind. for the NCAA Zone C Championships this Thursday and Friday, March 14-15. Four Eagles will compete for a chance to qualify for the upcoming NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships held in Austin, Texas, March 20-23.
Head Diving Coach Buck Smith and senior Gabrielle Mace (Clinton, Mich.-Chippewa Valley), junior Sophia Tsafantakis (Washington, Mich.-Romeo), and sophomores Micaela Schempf (Bowling Green, Ohio-Bowling Green) and Bethany Berger (Batavia, Ohio-Glen Este) head to the campus of Purdue University in pursuit of one of nine 1-meter and eight 3-meter NCAA Championship qualifying spots. All four EMU divers will compete in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions, each meeting the competition's qualifying diving standards of one performance totalling either 265 points (1-meter) or 280 points (3-meter) throughout the 2018-19 regular season.
The Eagles enter the Zone Championships after a fantastic performance at the Mid-American Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, Feb. 27- March 2 in Akron, Ohio. Tsafantakis earned All-MAC Second Team honors with her third-place finish in the 3-meter, scoring a season-best 304.60 points. The junior was also the Eagles' top finisher in the 1-meter diving competition, scoring 275.85 points in the finals for fourth overall. Mace earned top-10 finishes in both diving events, placing 10th in the 1-meter with a score of 263.40 and earning sixth-place in the 3-meter competition with a score of 285.85. Berger saw her top finish on the 1-meter, placing fifth-overall with 275.75 points, and followed that with a seventh-place, 283.50 points, effort in the 3-meter event. Schempf earned spots in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dive consolation finals throughout the weekend, placing 11th in the 1-meter event with a score of 248.30 and 15th overall in the 3-meter competition, scoring 242.75 points. EMU's tremendous performance on the springboard throughout the weekend earned Smith his third-consecutive MAC Diving Coach of the Year award.
Eastern Michigan will begin diving Thursday with the 3-meter preliminary competition at 1 p.m., with the top-18 divers moving on to the championship dives. Scores from the preliminary dives carry over to the finals round, where divers will compete to punch their tickets to the upcoming Championships in Austin, Texas. A similar format is scheduled for Friday with the 1-meter competition. If the Eagles qualify for the NCAA Championships in one event, they must only place in the top-12 of the other event to receive a national championship berth.
Live results from the meet will be available here. To keep up to date with all things EMU Swimming and Diving, follow the team on twitter @EMUSwimDive.
NCAA Zone C Schedule
Thursday – Women's 3-meter – 1:00 p.m. ET
Friday – Women's 1-meter – 1:00 p.m. ET
Top-18 in the opening round/prelims advance to the finals. Scores will carry over.
Zone C NCAAs Qualifying Breakdown for 2019
Women's Auto Qualifiers
1-meter: 9
3-meter: 8
Once a diver posts an auto-qualifying finish in an event, she only has to be among the top 12 to earn the NCAA Championships berth in the other events.
Head Diving Coach Buck Smith and senior Gabrielle Mace (Clinton, Mich.-Chippewa Valley), junior Sophia Tsafantakis (Washington, Mich.-Romeo), and sophomores Micaela Schempf (Bowling Green, Ohio-Bowling Green) and Bethany Berger (Batavia, Ohio-Glen Este) head to the campus of Purdue University in pursuit of one of nine 1-meter and eight 3-meter NCAA Championship qualifying spots. All four EMU divers will compete in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions, each meeting the competition's qualifying diving standards of one performance totalling either 265 points (1-meter) or 280 points (3-meter) throughout the 2018-19 regular season.
The Eagles enter the Zone Championships after a fantastic performance at the Mid-American Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, Feb. 27- March 2 in Akron, Ohio. Tsafantakis earned All-MAC Second Team honors with her third-place finish in the 3-meter, scoring a season-best 304.60 points. The junior was also the Eagles' top finisher in the 1-meter diving competition, scoring 275.85 points in the finals for fourth overall. Mace earned top-10 finishes in both diving events, placing 10th in the 1-meter with a score of 263.40 and earning sixth-place in the 3-meter competition with a score of 285.85. Berger saw her top finish on the 1-meter, placing fifth-overall with 275.75 points, and followed that with a seventh-place, 283.50 points, effort in the 3-meter event. Schempf earned spots in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dive consolation finals throughout the weekend, placing 11th in the 1-meter event with a score of 248.30 and 15th overall in the 3-meter competition, scoring 242.75 points. EMU's tremendous performance on the springboard throughout the weekend earned Smith his third-consecutive MAC Diving Coach of the Year award.
Eastern Michigan will begin diving Thursday with the 3-meter preliminary competition at 1 p.m., with the top-18 divers moving on to the championship dives. Scores from the preliminary dives carry over to the finals round, where divers will compete to punch their tickets to the upcoming Championships in Austin, Texas. A similar format is scheduled for Friday with the 1-meter competition. If the Eagles qualify for the NCAA Championships in one event, they must only place in the top-12 of the other event to receive a national championship berth.
Live results from the meet will be available here. To keep up to date with all things EMU Swimming and Diving, follow the team on twitter @EMUSwimDive.
NCAA Zone C Schedule
Thursday – Women's 3-meter – 1:00 p.m. ET
Friday – Women's 1-meter – 1:00 p.m. ET
Top-18 in the opening round/prelims advance to the finals. Scores will carry over.
Zone C NCAAs Qualifying Breakdown for 2019
Women's Auto Qualifiers
1-meter: 9
3-meter: 8
Once a diver posts an auto-qualifying finish in an event, she only has to be among the top 12 to earn the NCAA Championships berth in the other events.
Players Mentioned
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
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Diving
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