March 2, 2018
Jeff Shaffer previews the Zone Championships
Auburn's divers will be in Knoxville, Tenn., trying to punch their ticket to this month's NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. The Zone Championships will be contested Mon., March 5-Wed., March 7 at the Jones Aquatic Center at the University of Tennessee.
"We have one chance and it's this week to advance to the NCAA Championships," Auburn diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "Yes it's nice that we had a successful conference meet and a successful dual meet season but it all comes down to this week whether or not we advance."
Logan Andrews, Scott Lazeroff, Alison Maillard and Pete Turnham will each compete on all three boards while freshman Erin Norton will compete on the 3-meter and platform.
"Ideally we could be anywhere from two to four divers advancing," Shaffer said. "Our success from the SEC Championships - Alison finaling in two events and Scott was second on platform with what I think was his best list of dives in his three years here ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" those two have shown throughout the year the consistency that should put them in position to advance."
Auburn's divers have had a very successful season so far. Lazeroff has won the platform title at three different invitationals and Turnham has won a total of five springboard events. Maillard has won seven springboard events.
At last month's SEC Championships, Lazeroff finished 11th on the 1-meter, 13th on the 3-meter and second on the platform. Turnham was 17th on the 1-meter and 21st on the 3-meter. Andrews finished 17th on platform, 20th on 1-meter and 22nd on 3-meter.
"Pete is a senior and he has been here before," Shaffer said. "He had a disappointing SEC Championships and this is his last chance to advance to his second NCAA Championships."
Maillard brough home three top-10 finishes, tying for fifth on the platform, finishing seventh on the 1-meter and 10th on the 3-meter while Norton had an eighth-place finish on the platform for her best finish at the conference meet.
"Our two freshman, Erin who is a platform specialist, and Logan, who has shown steady improvement, this meet is really about getting experience and learning what it's all about," Shaffer said.
The schedule will feature the women on the 1-meter and the men on the 3-meter on Monday, the women's 3-meter and the men's 1-meter on Tuesday and both on the platform on Wednesday.
On the women's side, the top seven finishers on both the 1- and 3-meter springboards and the top nine on the platform are automatic qualifiers. For the men, it is the top six on the both springboards and the top seven on platform. If a diver earns an automatic spot on any board, they must finish top 12 on the others to participate on the other boards at the national championships.
The women's NCAA Swimming and Diving championships will be held Wed., March 14-Sat., March 17 at Ohio State's McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.