Women’s Three-meter Results
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Freshman diver Greg Ferrucci continued his stellar rookie campaign Thursday by coming back and earning a spot in the men’s NCAA Championships with a second place finish on the one-meter board on day one of the Zone C Diving Championships held in Columbus, Ohio at the campus of Ohio State.
Ferrucci finished in second place on the men’s one-meter board to earn a spot in the NCAA championships. Fellow freshman Zack Peterson recorded a 236.45 on the one-meter board to finish in 27th place. On the women’s side, senior Lisa Faulkner earned a sixth place finish on three-meter board with a final score of 620.60.
“We had a great first day,” UK diving coach Ted Hautau said. “I was very pleased with our divers’ performances against a high quality field of divers.”
Ferrucci, the Southeastern Conference Male Freshman Diver of the Year, finished the preliminaries in fifth place with a score of 339.60, but fought back in the finals on his second round of dives and put together a score of 376.75 to finish with a cumulative score of 716.35. Ferrucci’s score put him in second place for the zone and earned him a spot in the 2011 men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Minneapolis, Minn.
By earning a spot in the NCAA championships on the one-meter board, Ferrucci has automatically qualified to compete on the three-meter and platform as well.
“That was an awesome performance for Greg,” Hautau said. “He needed to be in the top three to make the NCAA championships. He was fifth in the prelims and came back in the finals and nailed all his dives. He stayed calm and poised. It was a terrific performance for a freshman.”
Faulkner entered the finals in 10th place after completing her initial list of dives with a score of 287.00. The senior from Midlothian, Va., rallied on her second go, recording a score of 333.60 to move up the rankings and finish in sixth place.
“Lisa was great,” Hautau said. “She really missed her third dive in the preliminaries, but made a huge comeback to get all the way up to sixth place. It was a tough field, and she had to reel a lot of girls in to get there.”
Peterson finished the one-meter board with a score of 236.45 and finished in 27th place.
“Zack Peterson was relaxed in his first NCAA zone competition,” Hautau said. “He missed one dive, but bounced back nicely. That was a good performance for his experience level.”
The men and women will switch boards Friday, with the men going off the three-meter board and the women taking the one-meter board. On Saturday, the men and women will dive from the platform.
In diving zones, the divers will complete their first list of dives and then be trimmed down to the top 18. As opposed to other meets, in zones the divers’ initial score after their first list of dives will not go back to zero. Instead, the divers will continue to add on to their first list of dives for a cumulative final score.
Check out UKathletics.com for all results from the Zone C Diving Championships and all UK swimming and diving news.
Zone C Diving Championships
Columbus, Ohio
March 10-12, 2011
Women’s Three-Meter
6. Lisa Faulkner 287.00 (Preliminaries), 620.60 (Finals)
Men’s One-Meter
2. Greg Ferrucci 339.60 (Preliminaries) 716.35 (Finals)
27. Zack Peterson 236.45 (Preliminaries)
