Cody Bashore

Women's Swimming & Diving February 25, 2021 Katie Rapp, NAU Athletic Communications

NAU’s Victoria Knapp Secures First 3-Meter WAC Champion Title on First Day of Diving Championships

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 25, 2021) – Freshman Victoria Knapp stood above the 3-meter finalists, scoring 295.50 points to earn her a top-place finish and her first Western Athletic Conference gold medal.

The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks blew past the competition, going first, second and fourth in the finals of the 3-meter springboard. With the wins, the 'Jacks jumped up to 633 points and continue to lead the conference since the first day of the championship series.

The Lumberjacks started the preliminary rounds of the 3-meter off strong. Knapp took her initial first-place finish after she tallied 279.35 points to place her at the top of the pack. Knapp would later, in the finals, finish with an improved score of 295.50, tabbing her first-ever WAC Champion title.

"Victoria did great," head diving coach Nikki Huffman stated. "As a freshman to win conference in her first event was amazing."

In second and third place in the prelims, Alyssa Jones and Maegan Jensen followed suit, scoring 254.90 and 251.90, respectively. Both Jones and Jensen would secure their first top-eight WAC Conference finalist position.

Emily Luberto was the fourth Lumberjack to move onto the finals round of the 3-meter dive, finishing in fifth place with a total of 248.90. With four Lumberjacks placing in the top five, Northern Arizona outnumbered all of their WAC opponents in the finals.

Jones would finish finals tied for second place with Grand Canyon's Elizabeth Mcknight, with both student-athletes tallying a total of 279.00 points. Luberto had a much stronger performance in the champion round, tabbing a fourth-place finish and a score of 256.50.

"Alyssa Jones had never made a final before and she was second, and even if it was a tie, it was awesome," Huffman said. "Emily Luberto had a really strong showing, She was in the top half eight. She's found her rhythm again."

With almost all five 'Jacks diving in the finals, freshman Reaney Preston was extremely close to ranking amongst the top finalists. Placing ninth in the preliminary round, Preston recorded a tally of 234.90, less than 10 points away from the eighth spot. With that, Preston moved onto the consolation finals, where she remained on top of her competitors.

The newcomer pulled ahead of New Mexico State's diver, Italia Ane Aranzabal Del Pozo, in her fifth dive of the afternoon and stayed ahead wrapping up the sixth round. In all, Preston scored 267.80 points, bettering the other opponents in the consolation bracket.

"I was really proud of Maegan Jensen in the prelims and Reaney Preston in the consols, they both did a great job." Huffman said. "Tomorrow, we will move on with our four divers. I'm very proud of all of them."

NAU's women will look to dive on the 1-meter as the men take on the three in the second day of the WAC Diving Championships. With the addition of the scores from tonight's dives, the Lumberjacks will head into the morning prelims leading with 633 points.

2021 WAC Championships Team Scores after Day 1 of Diving

Northern Arizona: 633
New Mexico State: 584
Northern Colorado: 499.5
Grand Canyon: 466.5
Cal Baptist: 286
Idaho: 355
Dixie State: 250
Seattle U: 165

Women's 3M Finals
1. Victoria Knapp (Northern Arizona University) 295.50
2. Alyssa Jones (Northern Arizona University) 279.00
2. Elizabeth Mcknight (Grand Canyon University) 279.00
4. Emily Luberto (Northern Arizona University) 256.80
5. Kiree Lowe (California Baptist University) 256.50
6. Taylor Jackson (New Mexico State University) 225.40
7. Emily Mack (University of Idaho) 223.90

Women's 3M Prelims
1. Victoria Knapp (Northern Arizona University) 279.35
2. Alyssa Jones (Northern Arizona University) 254.90
3. Maegan Jensen (Northern Arizona University) 251.90
4. Elizabeth Mcknight (Grand Canyon University) 249.20
5. Emily Luberto (Northern Arizona University) 248.90
6. Kiree Lowe (California Baptist University) 248.75
7. Emily Mack (University of Idaho) 246.25
8. Taylor Jackson (New Mexico State University) 242.30
9. Reaney Preston (Northern Arizona University) 234.90
10. Tasmin Stewart (Grand Canyon University) 234.60
11. Italia Ane Aranzabal Del Pozo (New Mexico State University) 226.40
12. Allison Shimp (University of Idaho) 224.40
13. Hailey Faith (University of Idaho) 218.80
14. Tori Sayers (University of Northern Colorado) 203.25
15. Madison Liu (California Baptist University) 192.15
16. Lillian Choi (California Baptist University) 185.00
17. Irelyne Mcgee (University of Idaho) 172.95
18. Erica Farris (University of Northern Colorado) 146.20

Women's 3M Consolation Finals
1. Reaney Preston (Northern Arizona University) 267.80
2. Italia Ane Aranzabal Del Pozo (New Mexico State University) 258.75
3. Tasmin Stewart (Grand Canyon University) 239.05
4. Allison Shimp (University of Idaho) 229.00
5. Madison Liu (California Baptist University) 210.90
6. Hailey Faith (University of Idaho) 209.60
7. Tori Sayers (University of Northern Colorado) 208.30
8. Lillian Choi (California Baptist University) 185.05

Print Friendly Version