PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Under the direction of head diving coach Scott Donie, four Columbia divers will make the trip to New Jersey to compete in the 2025 NCAA Zone Diving Championships. Hosted by Rutgers University, the competition will begin later today and run through Wednesday, March 12.
 
"The NCAA Diving Zone Championship meet is one of the toughest tests in the sport of diving," Donie said. "The divers have to be on their "A" game right out of the gate and perform at a very high level for 12 consecutive dives. Our goal is to get all four of the Lion Divers into a Zone final this year. The pinnacle of achievement would be to grab one of the qualifying spots and represent Columbia on the national stage."
 
Columbia will compete in Zone A of this year's competition. 162 student athletes from 41 different colleges and universities will be participating. Live results will be available via divemeets, HERE. All of the dives, prelims and finals, will be streamed via YouTube, HERE. A manual detailing all of the meet information, such as the schedule, media information, scoring, and more, can be found HERE. 
 
In order to compete at the NCAA championship, divers must first place in the top-18 in prelims to advance to the Zone's finals. Zone A will then send seven women's qualifiers in the 1m, six women's qualifiers in the 3m, and five women's qualifiers in the platform event to the NCAA Championship, which is being held March 19-22 at Washington State University. Zone A will advance four men's divers in the 1m event, five in the 3m and five in platform diving to the March 26-29 NCAA Championship, also at Washington State University.
 
Joseph Nicol will represent the men in the 1m and 3m again this season. At the Ivy League Championships, Nicol won the B final of the 1m with a score of 305.40. In the 3m, he made it on the podium for sixth place with a score of 311.60. Last year, Nicol qualified for his first NCAA Zone final in the 3m, and finished in 16th place with a score of 628.30. Will Cooley will also be participating for the men's team. He will compete in the platform event, making his first zones appearance. 
 
Macy Pine (1m & 3m), and Chloe Leung (3m) will also be returning to Zones this year to represent the women. Macy recently shattered the women's record with a score of 317.40 in the 3m at Columbia's meet against Brown, where later on she would also place second in the 1m with a score of 272.63. Pine also placed second in the 1m against Dartmouth with a score of 270.50. Normally a staple on the platform at zones, finishing in 13th place with a score of 433.00 last year which was her third consecutive zone final, Pine will look for the same success on the 1m and 3m boards. At the same meet against Brown, Leung placed in the 3m with a career best of 291.38. At zones last year, her best placement came in the 3m where she placed 61st with a score of 202.80. 


FULL SCHEDULE

Monday, March 11
Women's 3-meter Prelim A – 10 a.m.
Men's 1 -meter Prelim – Noon - 3 p.m.
Women's 3-meter B Prelim – 2:30 p.m.
Men's 1-meter Final – 3:30  p.m.
Women's 3-meter Final – 5 p.m.
 
Tuesday, March 11
Women's 1-meter A prelim: 10:15 a.m.
Men's 3-meter – Noon 
Women's 1 M-meter B prelim – 3:00 p.m.
Men's 3-meter – 3:15 p.m. 
Women's 1-meter final – 6 p.m.
 
Wednesday, March 12
Women's platform prelim – 9:30 a.m 
Women's Platform final – 11:30 a.m. 
Men's Platform Prelim – 2 p.m. 
Men's Platform Final – 4 p.m.



KEEPING UP WITH THE LIONS
For the latest Columbia men's swimming and diving program, follow @CULionsMSD and @CULionsDiving on Instagram and Twitter, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.

For the latest on the Columbia women's swimming and diving program, follow @CULionsWSD and @CULionsDiving on Instagram and Twitter, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.