UCLA divers qualify for national championship at NCAA zone meet
Sophomore diver Annika Lenz qualified for the NCAA Championships after placing eighth in the 3-meter dive and fourth in platform. (Hannah Ye/Daily Bruin)
By Lea Chang
March 12, 2015 1:16 a.m.
Earlier this week, a small group of three Bruins competed in Colorado Springs, Colo., at the 2015 NCAA Zone E Diving Championships.
Freshman diver Maria Polyakova and sophomore Annika Lenz both qualified for the NCAA Championships in the first event of the meet — the 3-meter dive. To qualify, divers had to place in the top eight. Polyakova placed third and Lenz was close behind her at fifth place. Freshman Ciara Monahan had placed 35th in the preliminaries of the event, disqualifying her from the finals. Only the top 18 out of 55 divers were allowed to proceed to the second half of the 3-meter dive.
Polyakova performed well again on Tuesday at the 1-meter event and came in at second place, jumping up one spot after holding third place in the preliminary dives. Lenz also improved in the finals, finishing eighth after having tied at 13th for her first six dives. Monahan came in 20th place in the preliminaries and was cut from performing in the finals for the event.
On Wednesday, Lenz competed alone for the platform dive. She placed fourth after the preliminary dives and finished in the same place.
Lenz and Polyakova, along with six members of the UCLA swim team, will head to the national championship in Greensboro, N.C., next week.
Compiled by Lea Chang, Bruin Sports contributor.
