FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 5, 2018) – Junior
Tatiana Kurach earned a team-best 12th-place appearance on 1-meter during the Monday's opening day of the NCAA Zone E Diving Championships. Kurach was the lone Northern Arizona diver to qualify for the finals and missed out on an automatic qualifying spot to the national championships by three spots.
Kurach totaled a two-round score of 551.90 and managed to improve on her preliminary position by four spots in the finals. The reigning WAC Diver of the Year appeared to be in perfect position to nab her second straight Division I NCAA Championship appearance, ranking third through the first three rounds of the prelims.
"Everyone dove really well," said diving coach
Nikki Huffman. "Tatiana just missed the top nine and she only had one dive that was a little off. The field was pretty exceptional."
She would finish the qualifying round in 16th with a score of 263.00. Kurach posted a score of 288.90 in the finals for her final total. Her improvement to 12th was important because should Kurach place in the top nine on Tuesday to qualify for the national championships on 3-meter, she would also be able to compete on 1-meter at the national meet.
Making her NCAA Zones debut, freshman
Jenny Cheetham steadily moved up the leaderboard throughout the preliminaries and wound up in 20th overall – just two spots away from the top 18 finals. Cheetham recorded a score of 254.60 in NAU's second-highest finish.
Junior
Christina Torrente was a couple of spots behind in 24th overall with a score of 249.35. Junior
Olivia Payne, who was making her first Zones appearance as well, placed 51st with a prelims score of 207.85.
"Jenny just missed the finals and I thought she did a good job," Huffman said. "Christina was great and she could've used a little better entries. Olivia missed one dive and she was in the thick of the top half until then. I'm really pleased with all of them."
The Lumberjack divers will attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championships on 3-meter on Tuesday. Preliminaries will start in the Aquatic and Tennis Complex at 11 a.m. with the finals to follow.
