FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – UCLA's Maria Polyakova and Eloise Belanger qualify to compete in both springboard events at the NCAA Championships after recording top-five finishes in the 3-meter event at the NCAA Zone E Diving Championships on Tuesday.
Polyakova placed second behind Nevada's Sharae Zheng with a combined score of 678.05. The Bruin sophomore posted a season-best 333.95 in the morning session, followed by a new season-best 344.10 in the 3-meter finals. Belanger finished fifth overall. After posting a 317.45 in the prelims, the Bruin newcomer scored a 309.25 in the afternoon session.
Polyakova and Belanger also qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 1-meter on Monday afternoon.
Annika Lenz, Ciara Monahan, and Kat Friese competed in the 3-meter event as well. Lenz advanced to the finals after recording a 276.35 in prelims. The junior finished 16th with a final score of 557.60. Monahan and Friese missed the top-18 cut-off—Monahan finished 21st and Friese placed 29th.
Zones conclude on Wednesday with the platform event, with Lenz, Belanger, and Montana Monahan representing UCLA. Prelims begin at 10:00 a.m. PT, with the top 18 competing in the finals at 12:35 p.m. PT. The top nine from the platform will be eligible to compete in this month's NCAA Championships, which take place March 16-19 in Atlanta, Ga.
For live results, visit www.divemeets.com. Admission is free for all fans to attend.