Though we’re not DiveDove, we do dabble in diving coverage, and as diving can have a major impact on the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, we cover NCAA Zone Diving – mainly through the lens of how national diving qualifiers could impact the team points battles later this month.
2022 NCAA Zone Diving
- Zone A: US Naval Academy / Annapolis, Md.
- Monday, March 7 – Wednesday, March 9
- Live Results
- Zone B: Georgia Tech Aquatic Center / Atlanta, Ga.
- Sunday, March 6 – Wednesday, March 9
- Live Results
- Zone C: Canham Natatorium / Ann Arbor, Mich.
- Monday, March 7 – Wednesday, March 9
- Live Results
- Zone D: Soderholm Aquatic Center / Madison, Wisc.
- Monday, March 7 – Wednesday, March 9
- Live Results
- Zone E: Wall Aquatic Center / Flagstaff, Ariz.
- Monday, March 7 – Wednesday, March 9
- Live Results
NCAA Zone diving action officially kicked off on Sunday with the women’s 1-meter competition over at Zone B in Atlanta, with the four other zones set to get underway on Monday.
UNC sophomore Aranza Vazquez Montano, who was the runner-up in the event at last season’s NCAAs, came out on top in the women’s 1-meter with a score of 671.95, buoyed by a massive final dive (Reverse 2 1/2 Somersault Tuck).
A total of 10 qualifying spots for NCAAs were on the line in this event, as determined by the allocations which you can read more about here.
Miami junior Mia Vallee took second to Vazquez Montano with a final score of 658.15, and South Carolina’s Brooke Schultz was third at 646.80.
Vallee was eighth on 1-meter at NCAAs last year, while Schultz, who transferred over from Arkansas this season, was third at nationals in 2021.
Two more scorers from last season’s NCAAs, Miami’s Emma Gullstrand and Duke’s Maddison Pullinger, secured invites by placing fourth and sixth, respectively.
Duke’s first-year standout Margo O’Meara, who won a pair of ACC titles last month, punched her ticket to nationals by placing fifth at 627.85, giving the Blue Devils two divers locked in for NCAAs already.
Zone B had 10 qualifying spots available in this event due to having five divers finish in the top-16 at the 2021 NCAAs. Each zone gets an automatic five spots allocated for qualification, plus the number of divers they had finish in scoring position at the previous year’s national championships. In the 1-meter last year, Zone B had Vazquez Montano, Vallee, Gullstrand, Pullinger and Florida’s Ashley McCool, who is now graduated, make the top 16.
Also earning qualification on the opening day was Georgia’s Meghan Wenzel, Georgia Tech’s Camryn Hidalgo, Florida’s Maha Amer and FIU’s Maha Gouda.
Women’s 1-Meter Results
CURRENT QUALIFIERS
Reimbursed divers are in bold, with invited-but-not-reimbursed divers in non-bold. You can read more about the distinction below.
| Women | |
| Diver | Event(s) |
| Aranza Vazquez Montano, UNC | 1m |
| Mia Vallee, Miami | 1m |
| Brooke Schultz, South Carolina | 1m |
| Emma Gullstrand, Miami | 1m |
| Margo O’Meara, Duke | 1m |
| Maddison Pullinger, Duke | 1m |
| Meghan Wenzel, Georgia | 1m |
| Camryn Hidalgo, Georgia Tech | 1m |
| Maha Amer, Florida | 1m |
| Maha Gouda, FIU | 1m |
Zone B action will continue on Monday with the women’s 3-meter and men’s 1-meter events.
SIMPLIFIED INVITE PROCEDURES
You can read a more in-depth look at the selection process here.
Effectively, each zone earns a specific number of qualifying spots in each event, based on how that Zone performed at NCAAs last year. Divers who place inside the qualifying places earn an NCAA invite. A diver invited in one event can compete at NCAAs in any other diving event where they were top 12 in their Zone meet.
The highest-placing divers earn NCAA reimbursement, while lower-placing qualifiers can compete at NCAAs, but their school must pay for their travel and lodging at the meet.