Two Divers To Represent Virginia At NCAA Zone B Diving Championships
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March 9, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – University of Virginia fourth-years Andrew Barber (Vienna, Va./Marshall) and Eric Kelley (Rockford, Ill./Rockford Christian School) will compete in the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships Friday and Saturday, March 11-12 at the University of Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatic Center in Lexington, Ky. The three-meter competition will be held Friday (Mar. 11) and the one-meter event will be conducted Saturday (Mar. 12). Both diving events are scheduled to begin at noon.
Barber is making his fourth consecutive appearance at the Zone B Diving Championships, while Kelley has qualified for Zones for the first time in his career.
Kelley tallied career bests of 298.95 points and 323.55 points on the one and three-meter boards in dual meets against Tennessee and Princeton (Jan. 14). Barber’s season-high score of 310.95 points on the one-meter board came against Clemson (Oct. 29), while his school record total of 339.52 points on the three-meter board came versus Maryland (Feb. 4).
Barber was a finalist on the three-meter board at the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships. He placed seventh with 293.30 points. On the one-meter board, Barber was 14th with 263.25 points. Kelley took 11th place in the three-meter competition with 281.15 points at the ACC Championships and he was also 14th in the one-meter competition with 241.30 points.
At last year’s NCAA Zone B Diving Championships, Barber was 21st on the three-meter board and 23rd in the one-meter competition. At the 2004 Zone B Diving Championships, Barber was 18th in the one-meter competition with a combined finals and prelims score of 554.40. He was 26th on the three-meter board with 277.75 points. Barber also had an excellent 2004 ACC Championship with a third-place performance on the three-meter board (520.15 points) and a fifth-place finish in the one-meter competition (297.65 points). In 2003, Barber was the highest freshman finisher on the one and three-meter boards at Zones with 19th place showings in both events.
The NCAA Zone B Diving Championship features the top divers from across the southeast. The top finishers from each of the five zone meets across the country will earn the right to participate in the 2006 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.