WVU Duo Qualifies for NCAA Championships to Close Zones

Wednesday, March 11

Morgantown, W. Va.

11 a.m.

West Virginia University

NCAA Zone A Diving Championships

Holly Darling competes in the NCAA Zone platform diving competition.

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

Camille Burt competes in the NCAA Zone platform diving competition.

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

Austin Smith competes in the NCAA Zone platform diving competition.

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

Nick Cover competes in the NCAA Zone platform diving competition.

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

March 11, 2020 06:23 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Results (PDF)Photo Gallery

By: Olivia VanHorn

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Redshirt sophomore Jacob Cardinal Tremblay and sophomore Nick Cover earned a pair of bids to the 2020 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, as the West Virginia University men's and women's swimming and diving teams wrapped up competition at the 2020 NCAA Zone A Diving Championships, at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park, in Morgantown.

With only four men's platform spots available, Tremblay and Cover secured two of the four after placing third and fourth, respectively, in Wednesday's platform finals. Tremblay notched a 666.25 total and Cover earned 639.50 points to earn their first-career NCAA Championships appearances.

"What a day," Mountaineer diving coach Michael Grapner said. "I'm incredibly proud of Jacob and Nick for their performances today. I'm also very proud of this team for their performances this week. Zone competition is tough, and these divers were incredible."

The pair becomes the first Mountaineer divers to qualify for the NCAA Championships since Bill Treasurer competed on 1- and 3-meter in 1983. Additionally, Tremblay and Cover are Grapner's first divers to qualify for the NCAA Championships in his coaching career.

"I'm honestly at a loss for words," Grapner continued. "I'm so thankful for the divers and their hard work and commitment this week and throughout the season. This season has truly been incredible."

In Wednesday's prelims, Tremblay finished in third place with a score of 331.55. He added a career-best total of 334.7 in the finals, reaching a total mark of 666.25 to finish third overall and earn an NCAA bid. Cover secured fifth place in prelims with a 318.85 total, before moving up one spot to earn the fourth and final NCAA bid with a score of 639.50.

Sophomore PJ Lenz finished just behind Cover in finals, taking fifth place with a final score of 628.10. Lenz also improved his placement in the finals after he finished sixth in prelims with a total of 314.95.

Rounding out the top 10 in prelims was redshirt sophomore Austin Smith, who notched a 287.70 mark. In finals, he added 324.35 to his prelim total to move up two spots to eighth overall with a score of 612.05.

Also competing in the finals were redshirt sophomore Jake Lowe, who finished 12th overall with a score of 513.80, and freshman Owen Johns, who took 16th with a 477.60 total.

For the women, freshman Holly Darling reached her third final in as many days after notching a score of 200.65 in prelims for 14th place. In the finals, she added 205.75 to her final score to finish 11th overall with a mark of 406.40. Sophomore Camille Burt also competed in prelims, finishing 23rd with a total of 174.85.

In all, eight of the Mountaineers' 10 Zones qualifiers competed on the final day of competition, while a total of 16 men and 28 women competed on the third day of the championship. The top 18 divers from the preliminary round reached the finals in each event, and West Virginia played host to the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships for the first time in program history.

Next up, 20 swimmers are scheduled to compete at the CSCAA National Invitational Championship, held from March 12-14, at the Busbey Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio. Preliminary sessions begin at 9:30 a.m. ET each day, while finals are scheduled to commence at 6 p.m. ET.

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.