March 17, 2008

Hurricanes Sweep Platform Events At Zone Championships

AUBURN, Ala. - Sophomore Brittany Viola and freshman J.J. Kinzbach won Sunday's platform finals in their respective fields while sophomore Reuben Ross placed second on the men's side behind only Kinzbach as competition concluded at the 2008 NCAA Zone `B' Diving Championships at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala.

Viola blew away the field in the platform finals, scoring a 702.50, nearly 120 points better than second-place finisher Kristen Davies of NC State's 584.20. On the men's side, Kinzbach had an impressive showing with a score of 857.30 in the finals, beating out Ross' 796.70 and third-place finisher Daniel Mazzaferro of Auburn's 779.05.

With their performances over the weekend, all three UM divers competing qualified for the 2008 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.

North Carolina's Ryan Funderburk Qualifies For NCAA Championships

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Based on his two Top 10 finishes in one-meter and three-meter diving, North Carolina senior men's diver Ryan Funderburk of Summerfield, N.C., qualified this past weekend for the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships to be held March 27-29 at Federal Way, Wash.

Funderburk qualified as one of 10 individuals to come out of the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships this past weekend in Auburn. Funderburk will compete at NCAA's in one-meter, three-meter and 10-meter platform diving.

Funderburk also earned an NCAA invitation in 2006 where he finished just one spot off earning All-America status.

FSU's Horner Places Sixth At NCAA Zone `B' Diving Championships

AUBURN, Ala. - On the first day of the 2008 NCAA Zone `B' Diving Championships, five of the seven Seminoles advanced to the finals in the women's 1m and the men's 3m. Sophomore Terry Horner (Orlando, Fla.) placed sixth, the highest placing of any Seminole today, at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala.

Horner, the reigning NCAA Champion on the one-meter and ACC Diver of the year, scored 699.75 on the 3m to take sixth. Junior Dan Frebel (Fort Wayne, Ind.) placed 10th with a total of 672.95 points. Senior Alex Tilbrook (Largo, Fla.) rounded out the men's squad with a 17th place finish of 635.10 points.

Florida State Diver Aleia Monden Joins Terry Horner In Qualifying For NCAA's

AUBURN, Ala. - Sophomore diver Aleia Monden will join fellow sophomore Terry Horner at the 2008 NCAA Championships as both qualified for the championships at the NCAA Zone B Qualifying in Auburn, Ala.

Monden used a fourth-place finish on the platform Saturday afternoon to clinch a birth to NCAA's. Her twelve-dive total of 534.25 helped the Mililani, Hawaii native land her first career NCAA appearance. Sophomore Katie Sirounis placed 17th (408.15) and freshman Katherine Adham finished 18th (408.05).

"It is so much fun to see someone as dedicated as Aleia Monden qualify for NCAA's," FSU diving coach Patrick Jeffrey said. "It's hard to qualify out of this zone so I am very happy for her. I think she has a good shot at placing in the top eight."

Georgia Tech's Stephanie England And Hannah Krimm Qualify For The NCAA Diving Championships

AUBURN, Ala. - Senior Stephanie England finished third on the platform to wrap up the third and final day of the NCAA Zone Diving Championships held at Auburn University. England as well as sophomore Hannah Krimm qualified for the NCAA Championships with their performances this weekend and became the first two female divers in Georgia Tech history to advance to the NCAA Championships.

England finished third on the platform today with 556.90 combined points in prelims and finals.

"All year, the focus has been on making nationals," diving coach John Ames said. "They were very successful during the season and that may have put some added pressure on this weekend. To see them become the first female divers in school history coming out of the toughest zone in the nation says a lot for who they are and shows that they are at their best when it counts."

Virginia Tech's McDonald Qualifies for the NCAA Championships

AUBURN, Ala. - Virginia Tech's Mikey McDonald (So., Annandale, Va.) became the first H2Okie diver to qualify for the NCAA Championships over the weekend at the Zone B Diving Regionals on the campus of Auburn University since Jackie Davoud and Martha Peck accomplished the feat in 1996.

McDonald's sixth-place finish in the 1-meter on Saturday earned him one of the 10 men's qualifying spots in the regional, which involved a total of 41 divers. In the prelim, he had the seventh-best score at 324.55 to reach the final and then recorded a score of 329.10 for a combined total of 653.65 to advance to the NCAAs. Even though he only finished 16th in the 3-meter on Friday and 19th in the platform event on Sunday, he will still be able to dive in those events as well.

"He had a rough time on the first day in the 3-meter, but he came back strong on Saturday to give himself a chance of qualifying," diving coach Ron Piemonte said. "It was really good to see him dig deep and give a great performance to advance to the NCAA Championships. I'm very happy for him."

Tiger Divers Wrap Up Season During the Weekend

AUBURN, Ala. - Four Tiger Divers competed in the one and three meter events for the right to pass on to the NCAA Diving Championships during the weekend.

Senior Dani Kazilionis just missed the cut, finishing 21st with a 229.25 on the one-meter boards, while Stephanie Fura notched a 204.45 in the event.

On the three-meter boards, Kazilionis put in a 212.25, while Fura tallied 211.35. Neither Tiger was able to secure a spot at the Championships, having to compete against a tough field of over 40 divers from around the region.

On the men's side, both David Giambra and Marco Raye got valuable experience. Giambra put in scores of 254.65 and 246.55 on the one and three-meter boards, respectively. Raye scored 206.20 and 219.75 as well. Both Divers were unable to qualify, but the sophomores will be able to build on the experience for next season.

Four women will travel to Columbus from March 20-22 for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships to compete in various swimming events.

Duke's Brummond, Gonzalez Compete At NCAA Zone B Diving Championships

AUBURN, Ala. - Sophomore Julie Brummond and junior Lauren Gonzalez were in action at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships this weekend, held at Auburn University's James E. Martin Aquatics Center.

Competition started on Friday with the women's one-meter competition while the men competed on the three-meter board. Brummond secured a mark of 253.95 in the prelims then recorded a score of 245.55 in the finals competition for a total score of 499.50, good for 11th place, while Gonzalez competed in the preliminary competition and scored 182.55.

Action on Saturday saw the men head to the one-meter while the women went off the three-meter, as Brummond placed 11th with a final score of 542.95 on the strength of a preliminary mark of 273.20 and a finals score of 269.75. Gonzalez was in action in the preliminaries and came away with a tally of 211.95.

Championship action closed out on Sunday with the men and women climbing the platform. Brummond notched a mark of 224.30 in preliminary action and went on to post a score of 250.10 in the finals to place eighth with a total score of 474.40.

NC State Diving Wraps Up Stay At NCAA Zones

AUBURN, Ala. - Kristin Davies used a personal-best 309.95 score in the platform dive to qualify for the NCAA Championships on the third and final day of the NCAA Diving Zones on Sunday, March 16. Chelsea Ale, Alex Dambly and Austin Hampton each offered strong performances in addition to Davies.

In the platform prelims, Davies placed third with a 274.25, while Ale took 10th on a 225.30. Davies paraded a 309.95 in the finals, good for second overall, while Ale pulled off a 235.95 for 11th.

On the men's side, Dambly placed 10th (316.10) in the platform prelims, while Hampton took 20th (256.15). Dambly wound up 11th (316.10) in the finals.