Diving: Two Head to NCAA Zones

By Grant Dovey for WVUsports.com
March 08, 2012 04:42 PM

Richard Pokorny

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Sophomore Richard Pokorny and freshman Haily VandePoel of the WVU diving squad will head to the 2012 NCAA Zone “A” Diving Championships from March 9-12. The event is hosted by the University of Buffalo in the Alumni Arena Natatorium.

Most recently, the duo participated at the BIG EAST Championships with Pokorny taking third on the 1-meter (283.35 points) and 11th on the 3-meter (266.05 points). VandePoel finished sixth on the 3-meter (254.15 points) and 17th on the 1-meter (215.85 points).

"The divers are prepared to dive," diving coach Michael Grapner says. "They have the skills to be competitive and do very well. They need to stay focused and be aggressive."

A total of 48 men's divers from 27 schools and 10 conferences will compete while the women's field will consist of 47 divers from 26 schools and 11 conferences.

All springboard diving events will consist of a preliminary round of six dives using all five groups. The top 18 finishers from the preliminary round will advance to the final round and will perform a second list of six dives using all five groups.

Friday's events will consist of the women's one-meter and men's three-meter events while the women's three-meter and men's one-meter competitions will be held on Saturday.

Four spots in both fields for the NCAA Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Championships have been allocated to Zone A, which stretches from New England through Virginia. Four other regional competitions, in Auburn, Ala., Bloomington, Ind., Iowa City, Iowa and Colorado Springs, Colo., are also being held this weekend to determine the national field.

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