IOWA CITY, Ia. – LSU divers added three more NCAA qualifications on the platform event Wednesday by finishing within the qualifying position standard set by the NCAA inside the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center on the Iowa Hawkeyes campus.
On the men’s side, Carson Paul (834.40) finished second on the platform event. With his performance, Paul qualified for the NCAA meet in his second event. The placement requirement was set at eighth place or better in order to qualify for the NCAA Championships in Seattle. Paul qualified for the three-meter springboard on Tuesday.
On the women’s side, Montserrat Gutierrez Lavenant (639.50) and Maggie Buckley (533.25) qualified for the national meet by placing second and ninth, respectively, on the platform. The number of qualifying spots for the national meet was set within the top-9 finishers.
Zone D holds some of the most qualification spots for the NCAA Championships with 11 in the one-meter, 10 in the three-meter and nine in platform on the women’s side. The men’s side will take the top nine in the one-meter, nine in the three-meter, and eight in the platform. A diver who qualifies in any of the three events is also eligible for the other two events, provided they finish in the top 12 in the latter events at Zones.
The number of open positions for each zone is dependent on how well divers from a particular zone perform at NCAAs the season prior, so results from the 2024 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships were used to determine the number of positions open for Zone D on each board this season. Last year, Lavenant, Tuxen, Buckley, and Paul qualified for the 2024 NCAA Championships.
The Tigers return to action from March 19-22 for the Women’s NCAA Championships in Federal Way, Wash., in Seattle. The Men’s NCAA Championships will occur the week after in the same location from March 26-29. On the first day of each meet, it is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. CT and on the following three days, prelims will begin at 12:00 p.m. CT with the finals starting at 8:00 p.m. CT.