March 10, 2006
Lexington, Ky. - Auburn divers Corey Gerlach and Steve Segerlin punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships as the duo finished in the top three during the first day of the Zone B Diving Championships in Lexington, Ky.
With a 1-meter final score of 551.45, Gerlach finished third to become the first freshman female diver in Auburn history to make the NCAA Championships. Gerlach posted a 266.05 in the preliminary competition and entered the finals in fifth. She turned in a 19.35 point improvement led by her 54.60 on her second dive, a forward 2.5 somersault, to jump two spots for third place and a spot at the NCAA Championship next week in Athens, Ga.
"I am very excited for Corey, she stepped up big time today," Auburn head diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "She put SECs behind her and competed the way she has been all year. It was a big plus for her to get third and she has made the NCAA meet. Tomorrow will be a little more relaxing for her and she can focus on improving her performance on 3-meter."
"I am completely overwhelmed," Gerlach said. "I thought I would be nervous and would just dive okay today. I was surprised at the way I dove and I am very happy. This is the ideal situation for me to qualify on the first day so that the pressure is now off for the rest of the weekend. I am going to be more relaxed the next two days and normally the more relaxed I am the better I dive."
Also earning a spot at the NCAA Championships in Atlanta was junior Steve Segerlin, who is no stranger finishing well at the zone championships. Segerlin scored a 787.35 on 3-meter to take second behind Georgia's Chris Colwill (872.20). Segerlin averaged a 67.50 in the finals to stay in the runner-up position which he held throughout the competition. At last year's zone championships, Segerlin was the winner on 1-meter and platform.
"I am really glad that I made NCAAs on the first day of competition," Segerlin said. "It will take some of the pressure of the other two days but now myself and my teammates must step up on the other two boards and help our teammates. We had a strong first day and everyone dove solid, we look forward to two more good days."
"Steve was consistent and we knew coming in that it was just a matter of formality," Shaffer said. "He just came in and did what he knew he could do and made some good corrections on some dives that are going to help in the finals at the NCAA Championships."
Lynnsey Segraves, making her third appearance at the zone championships, also improved in the finals round by 7.65 points and ended up seventh with a score of 529.95. Only .25 separated Segraves from the sixth place spot and she was just 4.85 points from fifth.
"Lynnsey did a great job," Shaffer said. "She competed well and tomorrow is a strong event for her. It was a very tough 1-meter contest but the group did what we came here to do and we competed well and did not beat themselves. Lynnsey and Scott missed by a place or two because someone else had a little higher degree of difficulty or just performed a little bit better today."
Newcomer Scott Morgan turned heads in his first zone meet as he was one of 18 finalists in the field of 41 on 3-meter. Morgan posted a 294.15 in the preliminary competition and was in ninth place with six more dives to go. With a 272.55 on his last six dives, Morgan finished his first day of competition in 12th place (566.70).
"Scott did a great job coming into one of the toughest zones in the country as a freshman with not a lot of experience and competing and placing 12th," said Shaffer. "That is real rewarding for me personally and he is only going to continue to get better. This was a great experience for him."
The Tigers return to action for day two of the Zone B Diving Championships on Saturday at 12 p.m. ET as the AU women take to the 3-meter springboard and the men will contest the 1-meter.
"We overall had a great first day and we have 3-meter tomorrow for the girls and 1-meter for the guys and we are looking forward to it," commented Shaffer.
To watch the competition as it unfolds on Saturday and Sunday, please visit the Kentucky athletic web site at www.ukathletics.com.