March 15, 2009
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Freshmen Anna Aguero and Vennie Dantin narrowly missed the cut to the 2009 NCAA Championship, placing fourth and fifth off the tower in Sunday's Zone B finals. A third-place finish would have signed a ticket to College Station, Texas for NCAAs held March 19-21 on the campus of Texas A&M University.
On the men's side, juniors Dan Mazzaferro and Kelly Marx will represent Auburn diving at the men's championships held March 26-28, also in College Station. The pair finished third and fourth in Sunday's platform-diving finals.
Hosted by the University of Tennessee, the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships was a three-day meet, bringing together the top divers from 25 colleges and universities from the southeastern United States competing for bids to the 2009 NCAA Championships.
Aguero entered Sunday's finals in 8th after an opening round of 234.20. The Moultrie, Ga., native jumped to fourth following a 278.45 effort in the afternoon finals but ended 11 points shy of NCAA qualification.
"It was a good day for Anna and Vennie," said Auburn head diving coach Jeff Shaffer. "They put together a couple of great lists and put some pressure on the field. This was a tremendous learning experience for both of them."
Fellow freshman Vennie Dantin (511.30) also mounted a second-round comeback, improving from eighth after prelims to a fifth-place finish. The Conroe, Texas native scored totals of 233.65 and 277.65 to finish a point shy of Aguero.
Prior to Sunday's platform diving finals, the Marx and Mazzaferro had already earned their spots on the NCAA roster.
Mazzaferro's third-place finish on Sunday was the result of a two-round score of 658.10, following opening totals of 410.15 and 247.95. Marx was next in line, posting a 639.85 with scores of 366.50 and 273.35.
"Anything above 400 is a good round," said Mazzaferro. "I hit a few. I missed a few. Overall I'm pretty pleased with how I dove today. Scott did well, unfortunately two guys just got a little past him for the fifth spot that would have qualified him."
With diving zones behind him, the 2009 3-meter and platform champion can now focus on NCAAs.
"It's really nice to see our swimmers going as fast as they have and us picking up two spots," said Mazzaferro. "It's a big motivation for us to go in and heave redemption from last year. Last year was a bit of a disappointment. We all have the cards we need to play."
Also in the men's finals were senior Scott Morgan (616.20) and freshman Adam Godzinski (566.65). The pair finished prelims in sixth and seventh but slipped one spot each during finals.
Alabama's Aaron Fleshner (694.20) claimed top-honors off the men's platform, followed by Florida State's Daniel Frebel (680.90) and Mazzaferro.
For the women, NC State's Kristin Davies (576.80) took first followed by Florida's Dodson (545.45) and Tennessee's Gabrielle Trudeau (523.70).
Complete and official results will be available via www.divemeets.com.