Wednesday, March 8
Auburn, AL
11 a.m.
Florida Gators
vs
NCAA Zone Diving
Smith Adds Platform to NCAA Slate On Final Day of Zones
Wednesday, March 8, 2017 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
It will be Smith's first time diving off the towers at NCAAs
DAY 1 RESULTS | DAY 2 RESULTS | DAY 3 RESULTS
AUBURN, Ala. – Samuel Smith added a second event to his NCAA schedule on the final day of the NCAA Zone B Championships.
Smith put up a 659.20 in the platform finals to finish eighth, earning an automatic-qualifying spot in the event at the NCAA Championships. Because he had already qualified automatically on 1-meter earlier in the week, Smith only needed a 12th-place finish today to also compete on platform at NCAAs. This marks his first NCAA bid on platform, having dove 1- and 3-meter at last season's NCAA meet.
Dalton Goss also appeared in the men's platform finals, finishing 14th with a score of 616.75.
In the prelims, Dylan Power placed 23rd with a score of 238.65. Goss turned in a season-best 309.55 score to finish 14th, and Smith placed eighth with a score of 324.25.
On the towers for the women, Teya Syskakis reached the finals, putting up a 440.20 score to finish at 15th. She had placed 18th in the prelims earlier with a 220.35 score. Brooke Madden followed up at 20th with a 210.60 score, while Brianna Felegi placed 31st with a score of 180.05.
"I am really happy for Sam and Brooke qualifying for the NCAAs," said diving coach Bryan Gillooly. "This will keep the Gators relevant on the national scene. Sam will be looking to improve on last year's performance, and as a freshman, Brooke will be gaining some very valuable experience at the next level.
"All of the zone qualifiers did very well and had some of their personal bests this week, which wasn't really reflected in the scores. Being that the coaches were judging the events, the scoring was extremely tight. The slightest mistake can take you out of qualifying. Overall, our program is heading in the right direction. With some weaknesses exposed this week, I look forward to tightening things up for the NCAAs and beyond."
ABOUT NCAA DIVING ZONES
Similar to the Last Chance Meet, diving zones are the lone opportunity for divers to score NCAA-qualifying marks on 1-meter, 3-meter and platform. At minimum in each zone, the top four male and top five female divers for each event automatically advance to NCAAs, while at-large finishers will fill the remaining spots.
The NCAA will release its final list of divers selected to compete in the national championships on March 12 with the conclusion of all five zone meets. Zones A, B, D and E all concluded today. Zone C, hosted in Bloomington, Indiana, runs from Thursday to Saturday.
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AUBURN, Ala. – Samuel Smith added a second event to his NCAA schedule on the final day of the NCAA Zone B Championships.
Smith put up a 659.20 in the platform finals to finish eighth, earning an automatic-qualifying spot in the event at the NCAA Championships. Because he had already qualified automatically on 1-meter earlier in the week, Smith only needed a 12th-place finish today to also compete on platform at NCAAs. This marks his first NCAA bid on platform, having dove 1- and 3-meter at last season's NCAA meet.
Dalton Goss also appeared in the men's platform finals, finishing 14th with a score of 616.75.
In the prelims, Dylan Power placed 23rd with a score of 238.65. Goss turned in a season-best 309.55 score to finish 14th, and Smith placed eighth with a score of 324.25.
On the towers for the women, Teya Syskakis reached the finals, putting up a 440.20 score to finish at 15th. She had placed 18th in the prelims earlier with a 220.35 score. Brooke Madden followed up at 20th with a 210.60 score, while Brianna Felegi placed 31st with a score of 180.05.
"I am really happy for Sam and Brooke qualifying for the NCAAs," said diving coach Bryan Gillooly. "This will keep the Gators relevant on the national scene. Sam will be looking to improve on last year's performance, and as a freshman, Brooke will be gaining some very valuable experience at the next level.
"All of the zone qualifiers did very well and had some of their personal bests this week, which wasn't really reflected in the scores. Being that the coaches were judging the events, the scoring was extremely tight. The slightest mistake can take you out of qualifying. Overall, our program is heading in the right direction. With some weaknesses exposed this week, I look forward to tightening things up for the NCAAs and beyond."
ABOUT NCAA DIVING ZONES
Similar to the Last Chance Meet, diving zones are the lone opportunity for divers to score NCAA-qualifying marks on 1-meter, 3-meter and platform. At minimum in each zone, the top four male and top five female divers for each event automatically advance to NCAAs, while at-large finishers will fill the remaining spots.
The NCAA will release its final list of divers selected to compete in the national championships on March 12 with the conclusion of all five zone meets. Zones A, B, D and E all concluded today. Zone C, hosted in Bloomington, Indiana, runs from Thursday to Saturday.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
FloridaGators.com
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/ Women's Swimming & Diving2024-25 Season Video
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