Hernandez Dives Strong on Day Two of NCAA Zone B Diving Championships
Tuesday, March 10, 2015 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Men's 3M Results | Women's 1M Results
ATHENS, Ga. – Junior Kahlia Warner provisionally qualified for the 2015 NCAA Championships on the one-meter board Tuesday, as the University of Florida men's and women's diving team's competed on day two of the NCAA Zone B Diving Regional in Athens, Ga.
Warner recorded an 11th place finish on the one-meter dive with a combined prelims (281.70) and finals (278.90) score of 560.60 points. Although the Queensland, Australia native finished just outside the automatic qualifying top-10 spots, Warner's seventh place finish on yesterday's three-meter board allows her to provisionally qualify for the NCAA meet in each the one-meter and platform events with top-12 finishes.
Warner is the first UF female diver to make it to the NCAA meet in any event since Monica Dodson in 2011.
In addition, Emily Mosher (253.80), Delaney Dye (239.80), Lexie Martorana (225.70) and Julia Hackett (220.05) placed 19th, 27th, 35th and 38th during the one-meter dive prelims.
On the men's side, redshirt junior Zach Hernandez made the three-meter board finals after posting a score of 310.15 during the prelims. The Johns Creek, Ga. native ended up finishing 16th overall after posting a total of 321.80 in the finals for a combined score of 631.95 points.
Hernandez' 16th place finish was his highest-career finish in an NCAA Zone Diving event, eclipsing his 17th place mark at the 2013 Zone Diving Regionals on platform. Also, redshirt freshman Dalton Goss ranked 25th in the three-meter prelims with a score of 281.95 points.
The divers will be back in action tomorrow with the men and women each competing in the platform dive.
Coaches Corner:
Diving Coach Dale Schultz
On Kahlia Warner's performance today…
“Kahlia (Warner) competed real well today in what turned out to be a real tight contest. There was only few points separating the top nine or 10 divers and she was right there with everyone. She started out slow on her first dive, but after that she was just really solid. She and I are both excited that she's qualified for the NCAA meet in another event, but at the end of the day, she just went out there and did what she needed to do.”
On Zach Hernandez making the finals…
“I was extremely excited for Zach (Hernandez). He only scored something around 250 points last year on the three-meter and this year he was well over 300 points in each the prelims and finals. Also, he missed his first two dives badly, but I was excited that he showed the maturity to come back and be solid the rest of the way. He just really showed the growth in his ability to compete and overcome adversity.”
On the divers competing on platform tomorrow…
“Obviously, the higher we go, the better we do. I'm excited that Dalton (Goss) and Zach (Hernandez) were stronger today than they were yesterday on one-meter. They both are ready to go even higher on platform tomorrow. On the women's side, Kahlia (Warner) is excited to go out there after what she accomplished at the SEC meet. Also, I'm really, really excited about Delaney (Dye) and Lexie (Martorana). Our plan is to get to the Natatorium in the morning and just do what we've been doing.”
Qualifying for the NCAA Championships:
The top eight male and top seven female divers from each event today qualified themselves for the NCAA Championships. On tomorrow's platform dive, the top eight male and female divers will advance to the NCAA meet.
Next Up:
Florida's divers will be back in action tomorrow with each the men and women competing on the platform dive.
Looking Back:
Click here for a recap of day one's action.
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.
