MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Junior Alex Obendorf advanced to the finals on 1-meter as the West Virginia University diving team completed the first day of competition at the 2017 NCAA Zone A Diving Championships, in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Monday.
To highlight the first day of competition, Obendorf advanced to the finals and placed 15th overall on men’s 1-meter. The women opened the three-day competition on 3-meter.
“Really tough competition today,” said WVU diving coach Michael Grapner. “The girls had a rough day but still maintained a positive attitude. I think they will come back ready to dive tomorrow on 1-meter. The men did as well as they could today. Alex was very consistent for prelims and finals. He made some great corrections and found -meter success. I think all of the boys made the corrections I was looking for and embraced the competition. Logan (McHenry) just missed making it back for finals and Austin (Smith) and Gerald (Hodges) did very well with the competition. I'm hopeful for a better day tomorrow.”
Obendorf qualified for the finals after placing 14th in the prelims with a score of 292.80. In the finals, he finished 15th overall, scoring 288.75 with a combined score of 581.55.
In the preliminary round, junior Logan McHenry placed 20th on 1-meter with a score of 276.65. Freshman Gerald Hodges took 25th, scoring 258.75, and sophomore Austin Smith finished in 32nd with a score of 246.55.
The WVU women competed on 3-meter, as sophomore Madelyn Woods placed 34th in the prelims with a score of 232.35, followed by sophomores Averly Hobbs in 36th (229.40) and Julia Calcut in 43rd (214.15).
The top four men’s divers on 1-meter and platform and the top five finishers on 3-meter will qualify for the NCAA Championship, while the women will advance the top five divers on 1-meter and the top six on 3-meter and platform to the NCAA meet.
Live results can be found at
meetcontrol.com. Competition picks back up on Tuesday, March 7, with the men’s 3-meter and the women’s 1-meter, at noon, ET. Competition concludes on Wednesday, March 8, with the women's platform at 11 a.m. ET and the men's platform at 2 p.m. ET.
Zone A consists of schools in 13 states, plus Washington D.C.: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.
