Results
March 14, 2014
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A day after automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships on the 1-meter board, junior Wenting Zhang finished in fifth place overall in the 3-meter competition at the NCAA Zone C Diving Qualifier hosted by Ohio State at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
Zhang was fifth after the preliminary round with a score of 300.75, but could not advance her position in the final round and finished in fifth with a score of 628.75. By virtue of her automatic qualification in the 1-meter competition, Zhang will also be eligible to compete in the 3-meter competition at the NCAA Championship, March 20-22, in Minneapolis, Minn.
"I think a fifth-place finish in our zone on the 3-meter board is a great accomplishment for Wendy," diving coach Phil Hoffman said. "She represented herself and the University very well again today against some of the best divers in the country. I am very excited for the opportunity for her to compete at the NCAA Championships next weekend in Minnesota, and I think she is poised to have a great meet."
Fellow Missouri Valley Conference diver Kaixuan Zhang of Southern Illinois finished at the top of the standings with a score of 709.90, adding to her third-place finish in yesterday's 3-meter competition. She was followed by Christa Cabot of Kentucky in second place with a score of 689.90 and Purdue's Michelle Cabassol in third place with a total of 666.00. Tricia Grant of Oakland placed fourth with a score of 656.45 and Zhang rounded out the top five.
Yesterday, the Shenzhen, China, native became the first diver in school history to advance to the NCAA Championships with her second-place score of 607.40 in the 1-meter competition.
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