The Irish will attempt to earn a spot in the NCAA Diving Championship this weekend as they participate in the NCAA Zone C Diving meet. The Irish will send three divers to the meet, including senior Tara Hyer, sophomore Natalie Stitt, and freshman Heidi Grossman.
The girls will be going against an impressive field of 90 divers from 24 schools across the Midwest at Ohio State's McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio. The Zone C meet is one of five across the country where divers will be able to compete to earn a spot at the 2008 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships held on March 20 to 22, again at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
"I believe our women will have a good chance of making the NCAA Championships," head diving coach Caiming Xie said. "They are good divers and should do well."
The diving team is coming off its twelfth consecutive Women's Swimming and Diving Big East title in New York Feb. 20-23.
Stitt took first place in the 3-meter event and third in the 1-meter event at the Big East Championship. This will be Stitt's second consecutive trip to the NCAA Zone C meet, as she took 17th off the 1-meter board in last year's meet.
"Natalie [Stitt] is strong," Xie said. "She should have won the 1-meter and the 3-meter at the Big East. She probably has the best chance of qualifying for the NCAA Championships."
Hyer claimed third place in the 3-meter event and fifth in the 1-meter event in the Big East Championship.
Grossman finished fifth off the 3-meter board and eighth off the 1-meter board in the Big East Championship.
The rest of the team that qualified for the NCAA Championships will be back in action on March 20th when the final weekend of the season begins.
