UCLA
Zone E Diving Championships
UCLA Prepares for 2023 Zone E Diving Championships
March 05, 2023 | Swimming & Diving
UCLA โ and its three qualifying divers โ will return to Federal Way this week to compete in the 2023 NCAA Zone E Diving Championships. The three-day meet will run from Mar. 6-8 at the Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center.
The Bruins' three competing divers include senior Hannah Butler, freshman Eden Cheng, and sophomore Zoe Jespersgaard. Cheng will compete in all three events โ 1-meter springboard, 3-meter springboard, and platform โ while Butler and Jespersgaard will dive in both springboard events.
Results at Zone Championships determine qualification for the NCAA Championships. UCLA has already qualified five swimmers for NCAAs, and will look to add to that tally on the dive side based on this week's finishes.
Divers who finish in the top-six for 1-meter, top-eight for 3-meter, and top-eight for platform will automatically qualify for NCAAs. Anyone who earns an auto-qualifier in one event and finishes top-12 in another will secure NCAA qualification in that event as well.
This year's Zone E Championships begin with 3-meter on Monday, followed by platform on Tuesday, and 1-meter on Wednesday. Prelims begin at 11:30 a.m. PT each day.
Butler is seeking NCAA qualification for the fourth consecutive season. She double-qualified in 1M and 3M in each of the past two seasons after earning CSCAA All-America honors in 1M as a freshman.
Jespersgaard is seeking her first-ever trip to NCAAs. She qualified for Zones in both springboard events for the second consecutive year, and enters the week with the top score among Bruins this year in 3M (330.90).
Cheng is making her debut at Zones. She has had a superlative freshman year so far at UCLA, highlighted by a school-record performance in platform (324.60) at the 2023 Pac-12 Championships. That score earned her a third-place finish.
Live scoring for all events can be followed on DiveMeets.com. UCLA-centric updates can also be found on the team Twitter account, @UCLASwimAndDive.
Players Mentioned
