FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona divers will head down to Tucson this weekend for the annual Wildcat Diving Invitational at the University of Arizona's Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. The three-day diving-only invitational runs from Friday through Sunday and will be a strong early test for NAU's talented unit of divers.

"We've been working hard and we're going to try some new dives (this weekend)," said diving coach Nikki Huffman. "It's going to be a chance to compete on platform and that's going to be huge because it might be our only platform competition before conference. It's going to be a good test for everyone to come together and compete while training. It's going to be exciting to have a strong meet and then have a good break over Thanksgiving."

NAU will be in a field of divers that will also include BYU, New Mexico State, San Diego State and Idaho in addition to the host Arizona.

So far this season, senior Chelsea Jackson has nabbed a pair of WAC Diver of the Week awards, bringing her career total to six. Jackson owns the team's highest 1-meter score of 281.10 and is second on 3-meter with a score of 270.91 – achieved last Saturday at Northern Colorado. She has already qualified for the NCAA Zone E Championships with a qualifying 1-meter score versus LSU and Wyoming on Oct. 31.

Like Jackson, junior Alexa Geiger has already punched a qualifying score – two of them in fact – to the Zone Championships. Geiger notched both of her scores in the home opener versus LSU and Wyoming and leads the team on 3-meter with a score of 282.10. Her 1-meter score of 272.75 ranks behind Jackson on the squad.

Freshman Raquel Gonzales was NAU's third diver on the team's road trip last weekend, and posted her best 1-meter score of her young debut season. Against Northern Colorado, she notched a season-best score of 229.25 on 1-meter, which ranks fourth on the team, and she also sits third on 3-meter with a score of 241.40.

"Last weekend, we had five out of six really good performances," Huffman said. "In general, they dove consistent. Raquel, as a freshman, did a great job. Chelsea had one meet where she put way too much pressure on herself and that affected her performance, but she bounced back really well."

Senior Carlye Townsend, third on the team with a 1-meter score of 232.35, along with sophomore Alyssa Loeffelman and freshman Christina Torrente have also competed for NAU so far this season. Sophomore Emma Simmonds has yet to make her season debut due to an injury.

While the Lumberjacks have competed on both springboards in the early portion of the season, they will be making their first appearance on the platform tower this weekend at the Wildcat Invite. As a freshman, Gonzales carries extensive experience on platform having qualified for the 2014 USA Diving Age Group National Championships on platform.

Competition on Friday and Saturday will both begin at 12 noon, while Sunday's action will start at 11 a.m. Live results will be available courtesy of DiveMeets.