Virginia Divers Head to NCAA Zone Competition
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Four Virginia divers will head to Annapolis, Md., this weekend to compete in the NCAA Zone A Championships, which runs Friday though Sunday at the U.S. Naval Academy. Live results will be available on VirginiaSports.com.
Representing the Virginia men will be senior Nathan Parker and junior Briggy Imbriglia. A pair of freshman – Alex Leinroth and Kelly Lloyd – will compete for the Cavalier women.
The event determines the NCAA National Championship qualifiers from the region.
Competition begins at 1 p.m. Friday with the men’s 1-meter and women’s 3-meter events. Likewise, at 1 p.m. Saturday, the men’s 3-meter and women’s 1-meter events will be held. The meet concludes at 12 p.m. Sunday with both platform competitions.
“On the men’s side, we took three last year and placed second overall,” UVa diving coach Rich MacDonald said. “I think that is a lofty goal with only having two this year; I think if we finish in the top-5 I will be excited. I would love for them to end the season and finish really strong, whether that means having a great meet or qualifying for NCAAs.
“With the women, it’s about the big meet experience,” MacDonald continued. “It’s about getting there and getting used to the pressure of qualifying for a NCAA Championship. They have to learn how to step up and do well. Like the men, I would love to see them finish in the top-5, but experience is the bigger key there.”
Each of the five zone meets being held across the country this week receive a pre-determined allocation of NCAA qualifiers based upon several factors, including how divers representing each zone fared at the NCAA Championships the previous year. Zone A will send a total of four men and five women to the respective 2011 NCAA Championship meets. The women’s meet will be held March 17-19 in Austin, Texas, and the men’s meet will be contested March 24-26 in Minneapolis.
There is no admission fee to attend any of the diving sessions. However, standard USNA visitor access policies will remain in place throughout the meet. Only those vehicles with a Department of Defense sticker affixed to it will be allowed to drive onto the grounds of the USNA. All other visitors to The Yard have the option of either finding parking in downtown Annapolis and walking through the Academy’s gates or riding the free shuttle bus from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium ($5 per vehicle to park).
For more information, visit the Navy athletics website.