AUBURN, Ala. – Two days into the 2025 Zone B Diving Championships and the Auburn Tigers already have a pair of divers qualified for the NCAA Championships. Senior Whit Andrus capitalized on a dozen dives to earn his way to his first NCAAs in the 3-meter competition with a fourth-place finish.
“I was just trying to trust the process,” said Andrus. “I honestly didn’t have much on my mind while I was diving. I haven’t had a whole lot of volume in practice recently, so I just wasn’t thinking too much and just trusted myself to react in the air.”
Two days of diving remain inside James E. Martin Aquatic Center. Tuesday’s action begins with the women’s 3-meter competition followed by the men’s platform.
It was Chloe Brothers and Abigail Farrar leading the way in the women’s 1-meter for the Tigers. Brothers easily slid into finals, scoring a 264.85 for 13th in prelims. Farrar was right behind the freshman at 257.50. Sophomore Kayla Walsh would make it three for the Orange and Blue in finals, finishing 17th after a 246.45.
Brothers was just as solid in finals, closing out her 1-meter performance with a total of 546.10 for 11th place. The rookie just needs a top-seven finish in 3-meter or platform to also dive the 1-meter at NCAAs.
Farrar would lock up 16th with a 508.45 and Walsh secured 18th at 494.30.
Emily Hallifax narrowly missed a second list, finishing 19th with a 245.35. Campbell Long would lock up 29th at 232.45.
As the men’s 3-meter began, Andrus dialed up a stellar showing in prelims. His 358.70 was the sixth-highest score after the first six dives. Ethan Swart and Talan Blackmon each earned second lists as well. Swart was 12th after prelims with a 345.95 with Blackmon close behind in 14th at 334.95.
Andrus was as strong as ever minutes later in finals. Averaging a 65.59, the Winston-Salem, North Carolina native totaled a massive 752.25 to finish fourth overall and comfortably qualify for his first NCAA Championships.
“It’s just awesome to know that all the hard work has paid off,” Andrus said. “There’s been a lot of bad practices but it’s been great this year, the team is awesome and we push each other. It’s perfect.”
“It makes me reflect on last year when he missed it by half a point,” head diving coach John Fox said. “All he said after that meet when we had our meeting was that he wanted to finish differently this year. His year is not over and that’s really exciting.”
Swart would finish strong in his final two dives to solidify 13th place at 692.30. Blackmon was right behind in 14th with a 677.05.
Travis Keith took 22nd at 317.65, Alex Just secured 27th with a 310.05 and David Hatt finished 32nd after a 295.65.
Below is the remaining schedule of events and the number of spots for each discipline:
Tuesday, March 11
11 a.m. CT – Women’s 3-meter prelims
1:30 p.m. CT – Women’s 3-meter finals
3:30 p.m. CT – Men’s Platform prelims
5:15 p.m. CT – Men’s Platform finals
Wednesday, March 12
11 a.m. CT – Women’s Platform prelims
12:30 p.m. CT – Women’s Platform finals
Women
3-meter – 7 spots
Platform – 7 spots
Men
Platform – 6 spots