ATHENS, Ga. — Junior diver Jessica Wantz qualified for the 2004 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships this past weekend at the NCAA Zone B Diving Meet held at Georgia’s Gabrielsen Natatorium.
Wantz finished third in the finals of the 3-meter competition (512.15) Saturday afternoon. The Houston, Texas native’s score was third out of 41 divers. Tennessee’s Lauryn McCalley (530.05) and South Carolina’s Allison Brennan (527.95) placed first and second. The top five divers advanced to the NCAA Championships.
“Jessica did a great job,” said diving coach Doug Shaffer. “She showed what type of competitor she is, putting her performance in the 1-meter behind her to finish the way she did in the 3-meter. She’s diving really well and I don’t see her (neck) injury bothering her to compete.”
Wantz is one of two Lady Tigers who will be competing in the season’s final competition, March 18-20 at College Station, Texas. Senior freestyle swimmer Stephanie Smith qualified for the 400-meter and 1500-meter freestyle events with her performance at the SEC Championships.
It will be Wantz’s second-consecutive NCAA appearance. The junior earned honorable mention All-America honors in the 3-meter for her fourth-place finish in 2003.
Freshman Hali Saucier was LSU’s next highest finisher in the 3-meter. Saucier recorded a score of 465.00, a personal best.
“She just kept gaining momentum as the season went along — as a freshman,” said Shaffer. “Going into the fifth round she was leading. I had coaches coming up to me, asking me who she was. It’s good to know she will be here for three more years.”