Two Arkansas Razorbacks divers qualified for the NCAA Championships on March 9 as the team began competition at the Zone Diving Championships in College Station, Texas.
The event is significant because it determines which divers advance to the national stage, with Arkansas competing against 20 other programs including Houston, Iowa, LSU, and Texas. The first day featured preliminaries and finals in the 1-meter diving event.
Seven Razorbacks participated: Bryze Sanchez, Kanah Pumphrey, Lauren French, Lotti Hubert, Maizie Sanchez, Majo Sanchez, and Malea Martinez. Five finished in the top 25 during preliminaries. Three—Lotti Hubert, Majo Sanchez, and Malea Martinez—qualified for finals by placing in the top 18. In finals scoring, Martinez placed 15th with a score of 268.90 in prelims and finished just outside NCAA qualification at 14th overall with a total score of 551.15. Majo Sanchez finished fifth in prelims (291.25) and ninth overall (577.55), while Lotti Hubert was third in prelims (298.05) and fifth overall (589.10), both securing spots at the NCAA Championships.
Head diving coach Abel Sanchez said, “Today was a great day qualifying two Razorbacks to the NCAA Championships. Majo and Lotti did a fantastic job and competed steadily. The competition was fierce. Malea also made finals and missed punching her ticket to the dance by 3 points. Bryze and Lauren missed finals merely points.Today was a good showing for us which should help with confidence leading to tomorrow’s 3m competition.”
The team will continue competing on Tuesday with preliminary action starting at noon in the three-meter diving event.
Fans can follow updates on ESPN+ or visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for more information about Arkansas Swim and Dive.
