Towbin Wins Platform, Three Cavaliers Advance to NCAA Championships on Platform
ANNAPOLIS, Md.- Virginia senior Kylie Towbin (New Canaan, Conn.) concluded the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships at the Lejeune Hall on Wednesday (March 13) with a win on the platform to sweep all three diving events during the three-day competition.
Towbin won her third event of the week, the platform dive, with a combined score of 582.65. She opened the day by setting a school record in the preliminary rounds with a score of 303.85. Towbin dove 278.8 in the finals to capture the win.
In addition to Towbin, freshman Walker Creedon (Cary, N.C.) qualified for the NCAA Championships during the day’s events, finishing third on the platform. Creedon advanced to the finals with a score of 344.00, where he captured a career-best score of 377.90. His score in the finals ranks third all-time at UVA.
In addition to qualifying in the platform, Creedon will also advance to the NCAA Championships on the 3m board after finishing 11th in the event on Tuesday.
“We concluded a super successful three days here at zones with a great day on the platform,” head diving coach Drew Livingston said. “The competitor of the day is Walker Creedon without a doubt. He knew it was going to be a dogfight making it out of this zone in the platform. He felt some pressure and stepped up big time to solidify his spot at NCAAs.
“Kylie continued her dominance here by grabbing a school record on the way to a big win on the platform. She has had the best multi-day competition of her career. Hopefully, Kylie, as well as our two guys heading to NCAAs, can carry this momentum and put up some big performances on the biggest stage of the year. We’re looking forward to a big couple of weeks for our whole swimming and diving program.”
Junior Bryce Shelton (Vienna, Va.) recorded an eighth-place finish on the platform, concluding the day with 581.85 points. He recorded 321.75 points in the prelims and a score of 260.10 in the finals. Shelton will compete in all three events at the NCAA Championships after qualifying on the 1m board on Monday and finishing in the top 12 of the 3m and platform at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships.
Sophomore Jocelyn Porter (Cornelius, N.C.) battled her way into the finals on the platform. She recorded a score of 185.00 in the prelims before topping the performance in the finals with a score of 208.95. She concluded the day with a combined score of 393.95 to finish 13th overall.
“The divers performed at an exceptionally high level at zones,” head swimming and diving coach Todd DeSorbo said. “Coming out of the competition with three NCAA qualifiers is a testament to their work and discipline this year. Drew (Livingston) has them firing on all cylinders and I’m excited to watch them perform in Austin. A huge congrats goes out to Kylie Towbin who unleashed total domination for three days, winning all three dives. I’m happy for her gaining momentum towards the last NCAAs of her career.”
The Cavaliers will return to action at the NCAA Championships at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas. The women’s meet will be held March 20-23, while the men’s championship will be held the following week, March 27-30.