Liberty to Send 4 Divers to NCAA Zone Championships
3/9/2024 9:56:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Liberty will send four divers to compete in the 2024 NCAA Zone A Diving Championships, held next week at Princeton's DeNunzio Pool.
Senior Maddie Freece, sophomore Mary Herndon and freshman Caroline Stamps will all compete in one-meter diving on Monday, while Freece will contest three-meter, Tuesday. Freshman Shannon Icard will compete on platform, Wednesday.
On Sunday, Liberty will be one of six teams competing in an exhibition team diving event.
Senior Meagan Tuohy and freshman Chloe LaCount both qualified for the Zone Championships but will be unable to compete.
Liberty's divers will be competing to earn spots in the 2024 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming & Diving Championships, which will be held in Athens, Ga., March 20-24.
The NCAA Zone Championships will begin on Monday with women's one-meter springboard ad will continue on Tuesday with three-meter springboard. Platform will be contested on Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday prelims will begin at 10:30 a.m. On Wednesday, platform prelims start at 11 a.m.
How to Follow the Lady Flames
Live results will be available through DiveMeets.com.
What's at Stake
Zone A will receive five qualifications to the NCAA Championships in one-meter, three-meter and platform, based off of last year's performance by Zone A divers at nationals.
The top 18 divers from morning prelims will qualify for evening finals, with all scores carrying over. Each of those 18 divers will complete their full allotment of dives in the evening, and the top combined scores from morning and evening will advance to nationals.
There will be 81 entrants in one-meter diving, 77 in three-meter and 23 on platform.
Three of last year's top five from Zone A in one-meter are back this year, in Daphne Wills of Penn State, Buffalo's Victoria Franz and Elizabeth Kaye of Virginia. Kaye, Franz, Yale's Gloria Lai and Buffalo's Marialis Kwak are all back after qualifying for NCAA's on three-meter last year. On platform, Giulia Vittorioso of Rutgers and Remi Edvalson of Harvard return after finishing in the top five last year.
In 2023, Daphne Wills of Penn State won one-meter with 610.80 points, while the fifth-place finisher out of Zone A was Virginia's Elizabeth Kaye who scored 553.50.
Also, at the 2023 NCAA Zone A Diving Championships, Virginia's Elizabeth Kaye had the top three-meter score, at 683.90. Fifth place went to Buffalo's Marialis Kwak (596.15).
Last year's top qualifier on platform from Zone A was Giulia Vittorioso of Rutgers, with 520.70 points. Harvard's Elizabeth Miclau was fifth on platform, scoring 480.35.
How They Qualified
Freece will make her fourth appearance at NCAA Zone Championships, and this is the sixth straight year that Liberty will be represented at Zones. In 2021, Freece finished a program-best ninth on three-meter and 14th on one-meter at the Zone Championships. Herndon competed at Zones as a freshman last year, while Icard and Stamps will both be making their Zone debuts.
Freece is a two-time CCSA Women's Diver of the Year, who was named Most Outstanding Female Diver at the 2024 ASUN Championships. She won three-meter diving at this year's conference meet before finishing as runner-up on one-meter. Freece is a seven-time conference medalist, including four-time individual event winner. She qualified for the Zone Championships on Oct. 27 at UNC Asheville, scoring 270 points on one-meter. The senior earned her spot at Zones for three-meter diving by scoring 292.70 points in the ASUN three-meter A Final.
Herndon has followed up her standout freshman campaign with an equally-impressive sophomore season. She earned her first career conference podium finish this season, winning the ASUN one-meter A Final in dramatic fashion. The sophomore secured the title on her final dive, edging out teammate Maddie Freece for the title, 269.95 to 269.75. Herndon originally punched her ticket to Zones with a 268.35 score at UNC Asheville on Oct. 27 and her collegiate-best one-meter score of 279.10 came at the 2023 TYR '85 Invite.
Stamps burst onto the scene during her freshman season, earning all-conference honors at her first ASUN Championship meet. The freshman secured her spot at the NCAA Zone Championships with a 269.25 one-meter score at UNC Asheville, Oct. 27. That is her highest collegiate one-meter score to date. She also has excelled one three-meter this season, finishing as runner-up in the ASUN three-meter A Final with 270.95 points.
Icard claimed her spot at the Zone Championships in her last competition of the season. With platform diving held as an exhibition at the ASUN Championships, an evening session was added during which Icard scored a program-record 261.00 points on platform to punch her ticket to Zones. She nearly qualified on three-meter, scoring 278.60 at the 2023 TYR '85 Invite. Icard will be the first Lady Flame since Olivia Robinson in 2020 to compete on platform at the Zone Championships.
Liberty's divers are attempting to qualify for the 2024 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming & Diving Championships, held March 20-23 at Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga.
Senior Maddie Freece, sophomore Mary Herndon and freshman Caroline Stamps will all compete in one-meter diving on Monday, while Freece will contest three-meter, Tuesday. Freshman Shannon Icard will compete on platform, Wednesday.
On Sunday, Liberty will be one of six teams competing in an exhibition team diving event.
Senior Meagan Tuohy and freshman Chloe LaCount both qualified for the Zone Championships but will be unable to compete.
Liberty's divers will be competing to earn spots in the 2024 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming & Diving Championships, which will be held in Athens, Ga., March 20-24.
The NCAA Zone Championships will begin on Monday with women's one-meter springboard ad will continue on Tuesday with three-meter springboard. Platform will be contested on Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday prelims will begin at 10:30 a.m. On Wednesday, platform prelims start at 11 a.m.
How to Follow the Lady Flames
Live results will be available through DiveMeets.com.
What's at Stake
Zone A will receive five qualifications to the NCAA Championships in one-meter, three-meter and platform, based off of last year's performance by Zone A divers at nationals.
The top 18 divers from morning prelims will qualify for evening finals, with all scores carrying over. Each of those 18 divers will complete their full allotment of dives in the evening, and the top combined scores from morning and evening will advance to nationals.
There will be 81 entrants in one-meter diving, 77 in three-meter and 23 on platform.
Three of last year's top five from Zone A in one-meter are back this year, in Daphne Wills of Penn State, Buffalo's Victoria Franz and Elizabeth Kaye of Virginia. Kaye, Franz, Yale's Gloria Lai and Buffalo's Marialis Kwak are all back after qualifying for NCAA's on three-meter last year. On platform, Giulia Vittorioso of Rutgers and Remi Edvalson of Harvard return after finishing in the top five last year.
In 2023, Daphne Wills of Penn State won one-meter with 610.80 points, while the fifth-place finisher out of Zone A was Virginia's Elizabeth Kaye who scored 553.50.
Also, at the 2023 NCAA Zone A Diving Championships, Virginia's Elizabeth Kaye had the top three-meter score, at 683.90. Fifth place went to Buffalo's Marialis Kwak (596.15).
Last year's top qualifier on platform from Zone A was Giulia Vittorioso of Rutgers, with 520.70 points. Harvard's Elizabeth Miclau was fifth on platform, scoring 480.35.
How They Qualified
Freece will make her fourth appearance at NCAA Zone Championships, and this is the sixth straight year that Liberty will be represented at Zones. In 2021, Freece finished a program-best ninth on three-meter and 14th on one-meter at the Zone Championships. Herndon competed at Zones as a freshman last year, while Icard and Stamps will both be making their Zone debuts.
Freece is a two-time CCSA Women's Diver of the Year, who was named Most Outstanding Female Diver at the 2024 ASUN Championships. She won three-meter diving at this year's conference meet before finishing as runner-up on one-meter. Freece is a seven-time conference medalist, including four-time individual event winner. She qualified for the Zone Championships on Oct. 27 at UNC Asheville, scoring 270 points on one-meter. The senior earned her spot at Zones for three-meter diving by scoring 292.70 points in the ASUN three-meter A Final.
Herndon has followed up her standout freshman campaign with an equally-impressive sophomore season. She earned her first career conference podium finish this season, winning the ASUN one-meter A Final in dramatic fashion. The sophomore secured the title on her final dive, edging out teammate Maddie Freece for the title, 269.95 to 269.75. Herndon originally punched her ticket to Zones with a 268.35 score at UNC Asheville on Oct. 27 and her collegiate-best one-meter score of 279.10 came at the 2023 TYR '85 Invite.
Stamps burst onto the scene during her freshman season, earning all-conference honors at her first ASUN Championship meet. The freshman secured her spot at the NCAA Zone Championships with a 269.25 one-meter score at UNC Asheville, Oct. 27. That is her highest collegiate one-meter score to date. She also has excelled one three-meter this season, finishing as runner-up in the ASUN three-meter A Final with 270.95 points.
Icard claimed her spot at the Zone Championships in her last competition of the season. With platform diving held as an exhibition at the ASUN Championships, an evening session was added during which Icard scored a program-record 261.00 points on platform to punch her ticket to Zones. She nearly qualified on three-meter, scoring 278.60 at the 2023 TYR '85 Invite. Icard will be the first Lady Flame since Olivia Robinson in 2020 to compete on platform at the Zone Championships.
Liberty's divers are attempting to qualify for the 2024 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming & Diving Championships, held March 20-23 at Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga.
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