Spartan Divers Head to Zone C Championships
3/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
March 9, 2016 
Live Results
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Six members of the Michigan State swimming & diving team travel to West Lafayette to the Boilermaker Aquatic Center for the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships from Thursday, March 10, to Saturday, March 12. Competition opens at 1 p.m. on Thursday with the women's 1-meter and men's 3-meter dives.
"It has been a mix of challenges coming into it," said MSU diving coach Eric Best. "The hard part is having separate men's and women's championships for the Big Ten. But we have had this past week or so to get things back together. We have had a chance to get the ball rolling again and have had time to practice here (Boilermaker Aquatic Center).
"Familiarity is a big thing for divers. It is great, especially for men, having just been here. Maddie (Sewell) has had a few meets here, and Julia (Oppedisano) had been here last summer and qualified for junior nationals out of this pool."
In the women's competition, four Spartans will be competing led by junior Madeline Sewell. Sewell took 19th on the 3-meter board at the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 17, posting a score of 282.65. In the 1-meter competition, she posted a tally of 294.55 for 12th. Her best performance on the 3-meter came on Nov. 13 against Bowling Green and Cincinnati when Sewell scored a 347.95. She earned a tally of 301.50 in the 1-meter on Nov. 6 against Toledo.
A trio of freshmen joins Sewell at Zone C Championships. Julia Oppedisano enters the week with a season-best of 294.20 on the 1-meter set on Nov. 13 and a 277.75 on the 3-meter, which she posted at the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 17. Morgan Wellenzohn has the second-best 3-meter score of any Spartan this year with a 285.70 set on Nov. 13. Wellenzohn's personal best on the 1-meter is a 277.45. Heidi Surdyk has the third-best mark for MSU on the 1-meter, scoring a 286.57 in the season's final home meet against Oakland on Jan. 23. Surdyk posted her personal best 266.48 in the 3-meter competition on the same day.
"I told the three freshmen not to think of this as last meet of the year, but really as the first meet of next year and to use this experience for building for the future," said Best. "For our upperclassmen that have been here now three times, this is the meet to go get and to qualify for the NCAAs."
On the men's side, junior Brennan LaBar and Charlie Maurer will partake in both the 1 and 3-meter dives. LaBar paces the Spartans in both disciplines, posting season bests of 327.97 on the 1-meter at Michigan on Feb. 6 and 354.80 on Nov. 13 against Bowling Green and Cincinnati. He finished 19th in the 3-meter at the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 26. Maurer enters the week with a 309.9 in the 1-meter competition and posted a 301.50 on Nov. 13 on the 3-meter board.
The Zone C NCAA qualifying break down for the women will be 12 in the 1-meter, seven in the 3-meter and 10 on the platform. For the men, seven will qualify from the 1-meter, nine on the 3-meter and eight from the platform competition. Once a diver posts an auto-qualifying finish in an event, he or she only has to be among the top 12 to earn the NCAAs berth in the other events.
The Women's NCAA Championships will be in Atlanta, Georgia, at the McAuley Aquatic Center from March 17-19, while the men's competition will be contested from March 24-26.
Schedule
Thursday at 1 p.m. - Women's 1-Meter & Men's 3-Meter
Friday at 1 p.m. - Men's 1-Meter & Women's 3-Meter
Saturday at 11 a.m. - Women's Platform, Men's Platform to follow
Top 18 in the opening round/prelims advance to the finals. Scores carry over.
Schools Expected to Have at Least One Diver at Zone C
Akron
Ball State
Bowling Green
Cincinnati
Cleveland State
Eastern Michigan
Illinois
Illinois-Chicago
Indiana
IUPUI
Kentucky
Louisville
Miami (Ohio)
Michigan
Michigan State
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Oakland
Ohio
Ohio State
Purdue
Southern Illinois
Wright State
Youngstown State
Live Results
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Six members of the Michigan State swimming & diving team travel to West Lafayette to the Boilermaker Aquatic Center for the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships from Thursday, March 10, to Saturday, March 12. Competition opens at 1 p.m. on Thursday with the women's 1-meter and men's 3-meter dives.
"It has been a mix of challenges coming into it," said MSU diving coach Eric Best. "The hard part is having separate men's and women's championships for the Big Ten. But we have had this past week or so to get things back together. We have had a chance to get the ball rolling again and have had time to practice here (Boilermaker Aquatic Center).
"Familiarity is a big thing for divers. It is great, especially for men, having just been here. Maddie (Sewell) has had a few meets here, and Julia (Oppedisano) had been here last summer and qualified for junior nationals out of this pool."
In the women's competition, four Spartans will be competing led by junior Madeline Sewell. Sewell took 19th on the 3-meter board at the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 17, posting a score of 282.65. In the 1-meter competition, she posted a tally of 294.55 for 12th. Her best performance on the 3-meter came on Nov. 13 against Bowling Green and Cincinnati when Sewell scored a 347.95. She earned a tally of 301.50 in the 1-meter on Nov. 6 against Toledo.
A trio of freshmen joins Sewell at Zone C Championships. Julia Oppedisano enters the week with a season-best of 294.20 on the 1-meter set on Nov. 13 and a 277.75 on the 3-meter, which she posted at the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 17. Morgan Wellenzohn has the second-best 3-meter score of any Spartan this year with a 285.70 set on Nov. 13. Wellenzohn's personal best on the 1-meter is a 277.45. Heidi Surdyk has the third-best mark for MSU on the 1-meter, scoring a 286.57 in the season's final home meet against Oakland on Jan. 23. Surdyk posted her personal best 266.48 in the 3-meter competition on the same day.
"I told the three freshmen not to think of this as last meet of the year, but really as the first meet of next year and to use this experience for building for the future," said Best. "For our upperclassmen that have been here now three times, this is the meet to go get and to qualify for the NCAAs."
On the men's side, junior Brennan LaBar and Charlie Maurer will partake in both the 1 and 3-meter dives. LaBar paces the Spartans in both disciplines, posting season bests of 327.97 on the 1-meter at Michigan on Feb. 6 and 354.80 on Nov. 13 against Bowling Green and Cincinnati. He finished 19th in the 3-meter at the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 26. Maurer enters the week with a 309.9 in the 1-meter competition and posted a 301.50 on Nov. 13 on the 3-meter board.
The Zone C NCAA qualifying break down for the women will be 12 in the 1-meter, seven in the 3-meter and 10 on the platform. For the men, seven will qualify from the 1-meter, nine on the 3-meter and eight from the platform competition. Once a diver posts an auto-qualifying finish in an event, he or she only has to be among the top 12 to earn the NCAAs berth in the other events.
The Women's NCAA Championships will be in Atlanta, Georgia, at the McAuley Aquatic Center from March 17-19, while the men's competition will be contested from March 24-26.
Schedule
Thursday at 1 p.m. - Women's 1-Meter & Men's 3-Meter
Friday at 1 p.m. - Men's 1-Meter & Women's 3-Meter
Saturday at 11 a.m. - Women's Platform, Men's Platform to follow
Top 18 in the opening round/prelims advance to the finals. Scores carry over.
Schools Expected to Have at Least One Diver at Zone C
Akron
Ball State
Bowling Green
Cincinnati
Cleveland State
Eastern Michigan
Illinois
Illinois-Chicago
Indiana
IUPUI
Kentucky
Louisville
Miami (Ohio)
Michigan
Michigan State
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Oakland
Ohio
Ohio State
Purdue
Southern Illinois
Wright State
Youngstown State
Players Mentioned
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