University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
NCAA Zone E Diving Championships
Belanger Earns Third NCAA Qualification
March 07, 2018 | Swimming & Diving
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. โ Eloise Belanger completed a successful showing at the NCAA Zone Championships Wednesday, securing her third NCAA-qualifying score of the trip. The junior notched a total score of 578.00 on platform to finish second, well within her personal goal of the top 12.
Already a Pac-12 champion on 1-meter and 3-meter, Belanger will head to NCAAs on platform for the third consecutive year. Her 1-meter appearance will also mark her third in as many years, while her 3-meter qualification is her second.
Belanger's second dive Wednesday set the tone for a productive preliminary round. The Montreal, QC, Canada native notched the highest score of the competition, a 71.05 205B that put her in the driver's seat. She followed that effort with scores of 60.75 and 63.00 on her third and fourth dives, respectively. Belanger wrapped the preliminary round in first place, with a score of 297.65. Traci Shiver, meanwhile, finished just outside the top 18 and a final-round spot in 21st (197.05). The 2018 Zone Championships marked the first for Shiver.
The final round saw Belanger tally another impressive second dive. Her 68.15 205B was the first of four straight dives of at least 52.50 to close her final round. Madison Sthamann of Hawai'i bookended dives of 67.50 and 68.80 to overtake the Bruin, but Belanger had done more than enough to earn her third and final spot at NCAA Championships.
NCAAs will begin March 14 and run through March 17. Belanger joins a group of already-qualified Bruins that includes seniors Katie Grover, Sarah Kaunitz and Margaux Verger Gourson, juniors Emma Schanz and Sandra Soe and sophomores Kenisha Liu and Amy Okada. Competition will take place at the Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio.
Players Mentioned
