COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two Illinois state divers have advanced to the NCAA Division I Zone Diving Meet in Columbus, Ohio, March 12-14. Senior Wenting Zhang will make her fourth-consecutive appearance while this will be sophomore Molly Schatz's first appearance at the zone meet.
Last year, Zhang placed third in the 1-meter competition and fifth in the 3-meter competition, to advance to the NCAA Championships in both events.
"It is an exciting time coming close to the end of the road with Wendy," head diving coach Phil Hoffmann said. "I think she is eager to end this chapter of her life, competitively, on a high note.
"I know that she is shooting to make it back to NCAAs this year and I firmly believe that she has been training and competing at a high level in preparation to achieve that goal."
Schatz, who is just a sophomore, will be competing in the 1-meter competition on Friday.
"In terms of Molly, this is a great accomplishment, especially for only being a sophomore, underclassman diver," Hoffmann said. "I think it's going to be great for her to get the experience.
"This year's plan is to see what the big show is all about. She will definitely be nervous, but I know she will walk away from the event with her head high. She absolutely deserves to be there and I'm confident that she will compete well."
Live scoring of the meet is available at DiveMeets.com.
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