BATON ROUGE — LSU female diver Alex Bettridge clinched a spot in the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships following her performance on the one-meter springboard during the first day of the NCAA Zone ‘D’ Regionals.
Bettridge, a freshman from Austin, Texas, scored a 12-dive total of 578.20 in a fourth place finish, which guaranteed her a spot in next week’s NCAA Championships. She qualified for the final round after a six-dive preliminary mark of 283.85, and posted a six-dive final total of 294.35.
“From dive one out of the gate, she did 12 dives that were all very solid” Diving Coach Doug Shaffer said. “It was an elite competitive field and she focused on the target on what she needed to do to qualify for the women’s NCAA Championships. I am very happy for her performance and I know that she is happy as well.”
The men’s team competed on the three-meter and all four divers finished within the top-18. Sophomore Kevin Leong registered a ninth place finish and the highest score on the men’s side with a 12-line total of 707.40. Leong posted a preliminary outcome of 354.90 and a final of 352.50.
Sophomore Daniel Helm came in 11th and cranked out a 12-dive total of 669.95. Helm was in sixth place after the preliminary round with a six-dive mark of 366.05 and a final round of 303.90.
Senior Matt Vieke ended in 12th with a 12-dive total of 663.65. He notched a preliminary score of 356.70 and a final of 306.95.
Sophomore Sean McKinney finished in 13th with a 12-dive score of 649.25. He fetched a preliminary mark of 317.85 and a final of 331.40.
“At this event, the competition is very elite and strong and is not forgiving if you miss a little bit,” Shaffer said. “We missed a little bit in the eighth or ninth round. I’m not disappointed with what anybody did, on the men’s side we competed real well and we have two more days of competition. They know what they need to do in order to be in position to qualify for the national championships. We just need to come out and execute.”
Junior Elle Schmidt finished in 21st with a six-dive total of 248.60.
Tomorrow, the men’s team will switch to the one-meter springboard and the women will attempt the three-meter.