LEXINGTON, KY. – The LSU diving team kicked off the 2021 NCAA Zone D Diving Championships today in Lexington, Kentucky with a trip to the NCAA Championships on the line. Day one saw two Tigers qualify for the NCAA Championships. The Tigers will be back on the boards tomorrow starting at 10 a.m. CT from inside the Lancaster Aquatic Center.
The men kicked things off today on the Three-Meter Springboard. After earning the top score in the prelim, Juan Celaya-Hernandez finished in second place with a total score of 854.55 to earn his fourth three-meter NCAA bid of his career. In total, this marks Celaya Hernandez’s tenth NCAA berth of his storied career.
Also for the men, Dakota Hurbis dove to a prelim score of 317.80 to earn a spot in the final. In the final, Hurbis dove to a score of 312.35, totaling his score for the day at 630.15. Hurbis finished in 12th place, just missing out on an NCAA berth as only the top nine qualified for the championships.
For the women, Montserrat Gutierrez Lavenant earned the first NCAA berth of her young career. The freshman finished in seventh place on the One-Meter Springboard with a total score of 541.40.
Helle Tuxen and Anne Tuxen performed well for the Tigers on one-meter, but just missed out on diving in the finals. Helle Tuxen finished in 20th place with a score of 255.75. Anne Tuxen finished in 26th place with a score of 232.75.
“I am proud of the Tigers’ performances today,” said LSU head diving coach Doug Shaffer. “To have Montserrat and Juan qualify and have a chance to participate in the NCAA Championships is exciting. We have four more events over the next two days and additional opportunities to qualify more of our squad to the big dance.”
ORDER OF EVENTS
Friday, March 12
Women’s Three-Meter
Men’s Platform
Saturday, March 13
Women’s Platform
Men’s One-Meter
LIVE STATS
http://lsul.su/3et9gdJ
LIVE VIDEO
Men: http://lsul.su/3rEEpif
Women: http://lsul.su/3etyOaW
MORE INFORMATION
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