COLUMBIA, Mo. – The LSU diving team will send seven divers to take part in the NCAA Zone ‘D’ Diving Regionals March 6-8 at the University of Missouri to qualify for the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Prelims for the springboard events will take place on Monday and Tuesday, concluding with platform diving on Wednesday. Prelims will take place each day at 11 a.m. CT., and events will run straight through to the finals with a fifteen minute break between the end of prelims and the start of finals.
“We are excited to take seven divers to the NCAA Zone ‘D’ Diving Regionals. This is the time we train for all year. We competed in this pool in November in preparation, so we know the pool well,” said head diving coach Doug Shaffer.
“Every LSU Tiger has a legitimate shot of qualifying for the NCAA’s, and we hope to move a large group forward to Indianapolis.”
For the men’s squad, freshman Juan Celaya-Hernandez leads the way after breaking all three school records on both springboards and platform at the SEC Championships.
Celaya-Hernandez posted an incredible score of 496.55 on platform at SEC’s to shatter the school record, garnering gold for his performance. A native of Mexico, Celaya-Hernandez also tallied two silver medals on one and three-meter with scores of 467.05 and 469.95, respectively. On the year, Celaya-Hernandez has finished no lower than second on one-meter.
Sophomore Matt McClellan also dove to career bests on both springboards and platform at SEC’s, taking fifth in the championships on one-meter with a score of 364.20. McClellan took eighth in the championships on three-meter, earning a career-high in the prelims with a score of 399.45 to move to fourth on LSU’s all-time list.
Sophomore Matthew Phillip also compiled a career-high on platform, diving to a score of 412.75 for fifth in the championship final and fourth on LSU’s all-time list.
A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, senior Andrew Suchla looks to earn his first NCAA bid after narrowly missing out on the top-seven in last season’s Zone Regionals on one-meter springboard, finishing with a two-list score of 674.40 for ninth place.
For the women’s team, sophomore Lizzie Cui returns to the water after diving to a silver medal on three-meter at SEC’s, breaking the school record with a score of 391.40. Cui also finished fourth on one-meter with a score of 336.10 for a personal best. A native of New Zealand, Cui has finished no lower than second on three-meter this season.
Cui also enters the Zone Diving Regionals as the only diver on the roster to receive a bid to NCAA’s, qualifying on both one and three-meter last year.
Sophomore Rileigh Knox and freshman Makayla Robillard logged scores of 281.85 and 296.60 on one-meter to pick up career-highs at SEC’s. Cui, Knox and Robillard also posted their best scores in the prelims on platform, finishing with scores of 257.70, 242.15 and 212.55, respectively.
Monday, March 6
11 a.m.-1:40 p.m. – Men’s 1-Meter Prelim/Final
4:45-8:35 p.m. – Women’s 3-Meter Prelim/Final
Tuesday, March 7
11 a.m.-1:45 p.m. – Men’s 3-Meter Prelim/Final
4:45-8:45 p.m. – Women’s 1-Meter Prelim/Final
Wednesday, March 8
11 a.m.-1:25 p.m. – Men’s Platform Prelim/Final
4:05-6:55 p.m. – Women’s Platform Prelim/Final