Knight, Masterton Fill NCAA Spots in First Day of Zone Championships

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Two UK divers stamped early tickets to the 2019 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday, as six Wildcats compete in the Zone C Diving Championships at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center.
 
On the first day of his last zone appearance of his collegiate career, senior Seb Masterton automatically qualified for the national meet on the 1-meter springboard.
 
This morning, Masterton reported a 358.95 to become one of 18 divers who advanced to the final round. The England native followed up in the final six dives by logging a 388.05 for a 747.00 finish, which was the fourth best in the discipline. Masterton was one of 11 finalists who automatically qualified for the  NCAA Championships.
 
Freshman Danny Zhang also earned a spot in the final round of the men’s 1M with a 305.90 note in the preliminary round. His final score did not put him in the conversation though, recording a 291.40 to make a 597.30 and finish 16th overall.
 
In her first zone appearance, freshman Kyndal Knight became the second Wildcat to fasten an early ticket to the national meet by finishing fourth overall on the 3-meter springboard on Thursday. The North Carolina native notched an overall 604.70 on 3M. Knight formed a 297.80 in the preliminary round, but came back for more in the final round by way of 306.90 points. The top nine performers from the finals placings punched tickets to the NCAA Championships.
 
Senior Courtney Clark joined Knight in the final round, posting a 266.95 in the preliminary wave. While she improved her score in the final round with a 274.60, she finished 17th overall.
 
Six UK divers are competing in the zone championships – Clark, Knight, Masterton, Zhang, sophomore Chase Lane and senior Kailey Francetic. The crew will compete again on Friday, this time in the women’s 1M discipline and the men’s 3M discipline, beginning at 1 p.m.

Schedule of Events
Friday, March 15             1 p.m.                 Women’s 1M
                                                                        Men’s 3M
                                                                        15 minute break in between list to cut to top 18
 
Saturday, March 16        11 a.m.               Women’s PL
                                                                        15 minute break in between list to cut to top 18
                                                                        One-hour warm up for men
                                                                        Men’s PL
 

Brush Up
United States is sectioned into five zones. UK is in Zone C, which includes Division I programs from Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Divers competing in the zone championships had to meet preset NCAA standards at a dive meet this season. A diver could have met an NCAA standard in one, two or all of three disciplines – 1M springboard, 3M springboard and/or platform.
 
Each UK diver who qualified for the zone championships met requirements to compete in each discipline, except for freshman Danny Zhang who joined the program in January. He will only compete in both springboard divisions, but will not compete on platform.
 
At the zone championships, the top 18 finishers from the preliminary round will advance to the final round. At the conclusion of the final round per discipline, tabulators will compile scores from the preliminary round and the final round to determine finals placing. From the finals placing list, only top finishers will earn a ticket to the national meet:
 
Zone C: Automatic Qualifying Spots
1-Meter – Women: 9; Men: 11
3-Meter – Women: 8; Men: 8
Platform – Women: 12; Men: 8
 
If a diver auto-qualifies for an event, he or she will be allowed to optionally enter any other event(s) at the national meet, provided that the diver finished in the top 12 in the additional discipline at the same zone meet.
 
The NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships will commence March 20-23, while the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships resumes March 27-30. Both meets will be hosted at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on the University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas.
 
Nine female swimmers and two male swimmers from the men’s and women’s UK swimming and diving teams have already been invited to compete in the national meet – the zone championship is the final opportunity to qualify athletes. Divers who qualify this weekend will join the UK swimmers at the national meet, which will make up the amount of possible scorers for each team.
 
For the latest on the Kentucky swimming and diving program, follow @UKSwimDive on Twitter and on Instagram, on Facebook and on the web at UKathletics.com.