Notre Dame senior diver Jenny Chiang proved herself at the NCAA Zone C Championships in West Lafayette, Ind., on March 15, placing third in the 1-meter dive and qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year.
In the qualifying meet, each diver got six dives in the preliminary round. Those who qualified moved on to the finals, where they got another six dives. The overall rankings were determined by all 12 dives.
At last year's NCAA Championships, Chiang finished 17th, missing the qualifications for All-American.
"I wasn't extremely happy with my performance last year," Chiang said. "Hopefully, I'll be able to redeem myself."
Chiang struggled in the 3-meter dive March 14, placing eighth in the preliminary round with a score of 293.50. In the final round, Chiang managed to move up three spots, finishing the 3-meter competition in fifth overall with a score of 616.40.
"After the 3-meter, I thought I had completely missed qualifying for the NCAAs," Chiang said. "I didn't think I was as strong on 1-meter as I was on the 3-meter, so I was worried I wouldn't qualify."
Chiang worked her way up in the second day of competition, placing first in the preliminary round for the 1-meter dive with a score of 306.70. At the end of the day, Chiang finished third overall in the 1-meter dive with a score of 563.90, securing her a spot in the NCAA Championships for the second year in a row.
"I'm excited to go back," Chiang said. "I can't think of a better way to end my diving career, and I'm excited to see how the other girl swimmers will do as well."
Two other members of the Irish squad also qualified for the finals in the 1-meter dive. Sophomore Allison Casareto finished in ninth place with a score of 539.15 while freshman Emma Gaboury completed her season in 14th with a score of 518.15.
Chiang said she needs to work on her confidence and focus while she prepares for the NCAA Championships.
"With the quick turnaround between Zone [Championships] and NCAAs, there isn't much time to do anything drastic," Chiang said. "I will just be focusing on maintaining and conditioning the dives that I have and on my consistency and confidence going into the meet."
Chiang will be back in action Thursday when she competes in the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis. Junior freestyler Kelly Ryan, sophomore breaststroker Emma Reaney and senior butterflyer Kim Holden will also compete at the championships.
Contact Katie Heit at kheit@nd.edu
