Following a second-place finish in the Big East championships, the Irish will focus their attention on qualifying for the NCAA championships. They return to action from March 14-16 when they compete in the NCAA Zone Diving Qualifier in West Lafayette, Ind.
Five Irish divers, including senior Jenny Chiang and sophomore Allison Casareto, will compete against other divers from the Midwest region for one of eight spots in the NCAA Diving championships. They will represent the Irish in the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform diving events.
"There's not as much turnaround time as usual between the Big East championships and this meet," Chiang said. "So we need to focus on keeping momentum from the Big East going and not looking at that event as the end of our season."
Chiang looks to qualify for the second year in a row for the NCAA championships. Last season, she finished 17th at the pinnacle event of the season and narrowly missed earning All-American honors by one place.
Chiang and Casareto both performed well at the Big East championships in Indianapolis last weekend as they claimed titles in the 3-meter and 1-meter dives, respectively.
Chiang became the first diver in Big East history to win championships in the same event four years in a row. But her fourth title in the 3-meter dive did not lack drama as she earned 329.85 points to beat the second-place competitor by just 0.85 points. Casareto finished third in the 3-meter dive.
The two divers swapped places in the 1-meter event as Casareto captured her first career Big East championship with a score of 311.30. Meanwhile, Chiang placed third with 297.60 points.
"[Casareto] is one of the best competitors I've ever seen," Chiang said. "She performs at her peak at a meet and does something you've never seen her do, and she's got great things in her future as a sophomore."
In the platform dive at the Big East championships, freshman Lindsey Streepey placed highest amongst Irish divers with a third-place finis, and she will join her teammates this weekend atQNCAAqualirying meet.
The Irish divers will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to compete in the NCAA Zone Diving Qualifier on March 14-16
Contact Matt Unger at munger@nd.edu
