March 11, 2006
Lexington, Ky. - Auburn diver Corey Gerlach continued to shine at the Zone B Diving Championship in Lexington, Ky., as the freshman captured the 3-meter title on Saturday afternoon to qualify for the NCAA Championship in her second event. Likewise, junior Steve Segerlin was runner up on 1-meter to take his second NCAA qualifier.
After six dives in the preliminary round, Gerlach stood in third place with a score of 312.65. She ended the round with her best dive of the prelim, earning a 60.90 on a reverse 1.5 somersault, 2.5 twist. Gerlach gained momentum early in the finals as she scored a 61.60 on her third dive (back 2.5) and took over the lead from South Carolina's Allison Brennan. Gerlach never looked back - taking the 3-meter title with a 12-dive score of 647.85. Her final six dives equaled a 335.20, just nine points off her AU record.
"I am really pleased with Corey's performance," Auburn head diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "She did what she needed to do to get ready for next week. The pressure was off of her today and she could just focus on doing the dives that she was capable of without any consequence. That was a big thing in helping her be consistent today. She also added to her confidence heading into the NCAA Championships to be the 3-meter champion from this zone."
For the second day in a row, Segerlin was the runner up finisher; today on 1-meter. Segerlin posted a combined prelim and finals total of 695.50 - his morning prelim list going 348.20 as he sat in first before finals.
"I think I got the job done today," Segerlin said. "I made NCAAs in two events and we have tower tomorrow. I dove strong but I definitely found some things that I need to work on before the big show next week."
In his final six dives, Segerlin went 347.30, less than one point off his prelim score but dropped to second behind Georgia's Chris Colwill.
"Steve was steady and we were able to see a couple things that need work before NCAAs," Shaffer said. "On the flip side he was just diving and going through the motions and it was somewhat disappointing that you don't take those opportunities to step up and really improve your game when you are looking to the NCAA Championships. He was solid today, so nothing against that. We came here to qualify not to win the event so we accomplished that goal."
Junior Lynnsey Segraves was right in the mix for the second straight day, as she ended up seventh on 3-meter with a 12-dive mark of 577.55. She turned in an 11.45 improvement in her final six dives but with a small error on her reverse 2.5, she dropped out of the top five. Segraves will contest the platform tomorrow with hopes of earning one of the nine slots to the NCAA Championship.
"Lynnsey is right in there and we need a little bit of help from other competitors or she can just help herself on tower tomorrow," Shaffer noted. "There are some scenarios where she can squeak in based on a couple of other divers placement. She competed well today and I was pleased with her performance and it really came down to one dive - her reverse 2.5 - in the finals where she didn't reach all the way through. She maintained a strong positive attitude throughout the contest."
Just three points out of the afternoon final, newcomer Scott Morgan ended up 19th after the preliminary competition with a score of 259.90. Morgan started and ended his list with 46.80's, the highest score of the six dives. Morgan will take to the platform tomorrow beginning at 3 p.m. ET.
"Scott was disappointed as he was 19th and just missed performing another list," Shaffer said. "We have talked all year about his improvement from where he was when he came in, in August and where he is now. He has had a great season and will only get better."
With one day remaining in the competition and the springboard events completed, the Tigers take to the platform tomorrow as two of the four AU divers have qualified for the NCAA Championships. Women's tower is set to begin at 10 a.m. ET with the men to follow at 3 p.m. ET. Results can be found on the Kentucky web site at www.ukathletics.com.