2017 NCAA ZONE DIVING
- Zones A, B, D & E: Monday, March 6 – Wednesday, March 8
- Zone C: Thursday, March 9 – Saturday, March 11
- Host schools:
- Zone A: Virginia Tech
- Zone B: Auburn
- Zone C: Indiana
- Zone D: Missouri
- Zone E: Northern Arizona
- NCAA selection primer
5th at last year’s NCAA Championships, the Georgia Bulldog men will add a diving threat to their 2017 NCAA roster after Ian Forlini qualified on day 2 of the Zone B meet.
As we’re SwimSwam and not DiveDove, our analysis of the Zone diving meets is focusing primarily on how diving could affect the team battles later this month. Forlini gives Georgia a potential NCAA scorer after taking 5th on 3-meter in a relatively tough Zone B.
Interestingly, the top three in the men’s event was exactly the same as it was last night on 1-meter. Miami’s Briadam Herrera won once again, followed by Tennessee’s Liam Stone and UNC’s Jack Nyquist. Meanwhile on the women’s side, none of the top 3 from yesterday’s 3-meter repeated their medal finish. That means more men are locked in for reimbursement slots from lower places, given the divers ahead of them doubling up.
For the women, Julia Vincent of South Carolina won the 1-meter event. In terms of the team race, North Carolina will now have two divers in the mix. Elissa Dawson is locked into a reimbursement slot and Maria Lohman made an eligibility spot on 1-meter tonight.
| Priority | Finisher | Women | Men |
| 1 | 3-meter Champ | Wallace Layland, MIA | Briadam Herrera, MIA |
| 2 | 1-meter Champ | Julia Vincent, SCAR | |
| 3 | Platform Champ | ||
| 4 | 3-meter 2nd | Elissa Dawson, UNC | Liam Stone, TENN |
| 5 | 1-meter 2nd | Marcela Maric, MIA | |
| 6 | Platform 2nd | ||
| 7 | 3-meter 3rd | Alison Maillard, AUB | Jack Nyquist, UNC |
| 8 | 1-meter 3rd | Mikaela Lujan, SCAR | |
| 9 | Platform 3rd | ||
| 10 | 3-meter 4th | Rachel Rubadue, TENN | Pete Turnham, AUB |
| 11 | 1-meter 4th | Charles Clifton, UGA | |
| 12 | Platform 4th | ||
| 13 | 3-meter 5th | Molly Carlson, FSU | Ian Forlini, UGA |
| 14 | 1-meter 5th | Sean Burston, UNC | |
| 15 | Platform 5th | ||
| 16 | 3-meter 6th | Olivia Ball, UGA | Scott Lazeroff, AUB |
| 17 | 1-meter 6th | Ayla Bonniwell, FSU | Jordan Gotro, SCAR |
| 18 | Platform 6th | ||
| 19 | 3-meter 7th | ||
| 20 | 1-meter 7th | Maria Lohman, UNC | Samuel Smith, FL |
| 21 | Platform 7th | ||
| 22 | 3-meter 8th | Victoria Moretti, FAU | Tyler Roberge, FSU |
| 23 | 1-meter 8th | Evan Moretti, DUKE | |
| 24 | Platform 8th | — | |
| 25 | 3-meter 9th | McKensi Austin, UGA | Dylan Grisell, FSU |
| 26 | 1-meter 9th | — | |
| 27 | Platform 9th | — | |
| 28 | 3-meter 10th | — | Evan Moretti, DUKE |
| 29 | 1-meter 10th | Brooke Madden, FL | — |
| 30 | Platform 10th | — | — |
(Athletes in bold are locked in for NCAA reimbursement. Athletes who have doubled up on qualifying spots are noted with a line through their lower priority slot.)
NCAA ZONE QUALIFYING PROCEDURES
From our refresher post, which you can find here.
Divers qualify for the NCAA Championships through Zone Meets spread across the country. Each zone earns a set number of NCAA qualifying spots based on the performances of that Zone at NCAAs in the past.
Here are the qualifying spots for each event in each zone:
WOMEN
| 1M | 3M | PLATFORM | |
| Zone A | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Zone B | 10 | 9 | 7 |
| Zone C | 8 | 9 | 6 |
| Zone D | 7 | 7 | 11 |
| Zone E | 11 | 9 | 11 |
MEN
| 1M | 3M | PLATFORM | |
| Zone A | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Zone B | 8 | 10 | 9 |
| Zone C | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| Zone D | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Zone E | 9 | 5 | 7 |
According to the rules set in 2015 that allowed more divers into the meet, any diver who lands in the qualifying spots for their zone earns a spot to compete in the NCAA Championships. If the diver earns eligibility in one event, they can automatically compete in any of the other two events at NCAAs as long as they finished in the top 12 in their zone in that event.
The NCAA made a distinction between “eligible” and “reimbursed” athletes. Divers qualifying outside of the reimbursement spots will not have their travel, lodging, or meet expenses covered by the NCAA. Instead the individual school must decide if they’re willing to pay the bill themselves to give that diver an opportunity to participate in the NCAA Championships.
| WOMEN | MEN | |
| Zone A | 5 | 5 |
| Zone B | 9 | 9 |
| Zone C | 8 | 6 |
| Zone D | 8 | 9 |
| Zone E | 11 | 6 |
A priority chart determines who gets the reimbursement spots. The first priority spot is taken by the winner of each event beginning with the 3-meter champ, followed by the 1-meter champ and then the platform champ. If an athlete wins two events, they will still only take up one slot which means the NCAA will keep adding rows to this chart until the zone meet reimbursement quota is met.