Nearly one month after capturing the Big East title, the Notre Dame diving team will set out to win on a national stage. The Irish will send four divers to the NCAA Zone Diving championship this weekend in a meet featuring the toughest competition in the region.
Irish diving coach Caiming Xie was named Big East Diving Coach of the Year, while freshman Nick Nemetz earned Big East Diver of the Year honors Feb. 12.
Nemetz said all of the Big East title celebrations have ended, but he would love to be able to celebrate once more, this time in front of the top divers in the area.
"[Winning the Big East Championship] was a great feeling," he said. "It was another thing I didn't expect to do, but I felt great. I felt like I worked hard this year and learned a lot and improved."
Nemetz, junior Ryan Koter and freshmen Michael Kreft and Ted Wagner will travel to Indiana to compete for the Irish. To qualify, a diver must record a score of at least 300 on the one-meter board or a score of at least 320 on the three-meter board at any point during the season.
Koter — who has qualified for the third time in as many years — has offered advice to the trio of Irish freshmen making the trip, Wagner said.
"We're going into zones with three freshmen, which is not that much experience, but it should be a great meet," Wagner said. "I think everyone should do pretty well."
Indiana will host competition in Zone C, which features several schools including Notre Dame and Ohio State.
Nemetz said he does not quite know what to expect in his first trip to the Zone competition.
"There's a lot of good divers at this meet," Nemetz said. "There are a bunch of Big Ten schools that have really good divers, whose best scores are a lot better than mine. I don't care what place I get. I don't have any top-placing goals or anything like that. I am looking forward to having a fun time, and I'm going to dive my best."
The Irish will begin competition in the NCAA Zone Diving championship Friday in Bloomington, Ind.
Contact Megan Golden at mgolde1@saintmarys.edu
