March 7, 2018
Scott Lazeroff and Erin Norton both assured themselves a place at the NCAA Championships on Wednesday, finishing fifth and eighth, respectively, on the platform at the Zone B Diving Championships in Knoxville, Tenn.
Lazeroff, a junior, advanced to the finals after a 398.20 in prelims placed him second. He then scored a 379.95 in finals to post a 12-dive score of 778.15 and secure his third straight trip to the national championships.
"Scott was steady all the way through on platform," diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "Our goal was to go 400 for the two lists and he was 398 on the first list. He really dived pretty well on his second list, although his scores dropped off on him not cleaning up his entries."
By virtue of his top-12 showing on the 3-meter, he will also dive that event at the NCAA Championships. Teammate Pete Turnham will compete on both springboards.
Norton, a freshman, grabbed one of the automatic qualifying spots with her eighth-place finish in the women's finals. After completing prelims in 15th with a 211.40, she scored a 238.90 in finals to punch her ticket to next week's NCAA Championships.
"Erin did a little shaky first list but came back and really dived up a storm in the second list," Shaffer said.
Alison Maillard also added the platform to her NCAA event list, finishing 10th on Wednesday afternoon. After scoring a 230.80 in prelims, the sophomore posted a 234.45 in finals. She finished the zone championships a perfect 3-for-3, advancing on all three boards to the NCAA Championships.
Logan Andrews finished 12th with a 12-dive score of 594.65. He had advanced to finals with a 300.95, which was 11th. A freshman, he competed in the finals of both the 1-meter and platform at this year's zone championships.
"I'm really pleased with four out of five advancing to the NCAA Championships," Shaffer said. "We are looking forward to Columbus and Minneapolis. It was a great meet in Knoxville."
The Women's NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships begin, Wed., March 14 at Ohio State while the men's will be contested a week later at Minnesota.