Warner Advances to NCAA Championships on First Night of Zone Diving Regional
Tuesday, March 10, 2015 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Men's 1M Results | Women's 3M Results
ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Florida men's and women's diving team's competed on day one of the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships in Athens, Ga. and had two Gators advance to the finals. UF was led by junior Kahlia Warner, as she qualified for the NCAA Championships on the women's three-meter dive with a seventh place finish and a combined prelims (295.75) and finals (328.35) score of 624.10 points.
The Queensland, Australia native became the first UF female diver to make it to the NCAA meet in any event since Monica Dodson in 2011. Warner just barely made the cut as the top seven finishers in her event advanced to the NCAA Championships.
In addition to Warner, junior Emily Mosher advanced to the finals on the three-meter board as she placed 16th with a total of 276.25 points. She followed that score with a finals mark of 262.1 to post total of 538.35 points and finish 18th overall in the event.
Warner and Mosher's classmate Delaney Dye recorded a score 251.65 points on the three-meter board during prelims.
On the men's side, redshirt junior Zach Hernandez and redshirt freshman Dalton Goss ranked 21st and 30th in the one-meter prelims with scores of 271.40 and 219.75 points, respectively.
The divers will be back in action tomorrow with the men competing on the three-meter board and the women taking on the one-meter.
Coaches Corner:
Diving Coach Dale Schultz
On Kahlia Warner advancing to the NCAA Championships…
“The qualifying format has changed since Florida had its last qualifier, as it's by event which makes a little bit more sense. But, it's exciting for Kahlia and our team. Donnie Craine had a lot of success at the NCAA meet and with the system that's place, we are just trying to continue and build off Florida's tradition.”
On Emily Mosher making the finals…
“Emily told me that she wasn't close to making the finals last year and she was really excited to make it this year. She missed a dive in the finals, but dove outstanding today. She was solid, doing the right things and I was just excited for her to make the finals.”
On the men moving forward from today…
“Our guys are on three-meter tomorrow. The one-meter has been the weakest event for our men this year. We knew that coming in here so our guys are just excited to start getting up a little higher.”
On his excitement level moving into tomorrow…
“I'm excited for Kahlia, Emily and all our girls. I'm excited to have all five women competing tomorrow, including Julia Hackett, who is in her last year, and Lexie Martorana, who is a freshman, and neither of them have ever been to this meet before. All our athletes have been resilient with all that they have been through and I am just honored to have the opportunity to coach all of them.”
Qualifying for the NCAA Championships:
The top nine male and top seven female divers from each event today qualified themselves for the NCAA Championships. On tomorrow's boards, the top 10 female and eight male divers will advance to the NCAA meet.
Next Up:
Florida's divers will be back in action tomorrow with the men taking on the three-meter board and the women taking on the one-meter.
Follow the Gators:
Gator fans are encouraged to follow the swimming and diving program via Twitter or Facebook. A complete recap of each day's events will be available on GatorZone.com.
