Ishimatsu qualifies for her fourth NCAA Championships
USC senior and three-time All-American diver Victoria Ishimatsu is heading to her fourth consecutive NCAA Championships following a win in the 1-meter springboard on Thursday, March 8 at the 2012 NCAA Zone E Diving Championships at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Cadet Natatorium in Fort Collins, Colo.
Ishimatsu, competing in her first event since the Pac-12 championships, where she won both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard finals, earned her third consecutive 1-meter win with 626.80 points. Following Ishimatsu by a comfortable margin was Arizona’s Samantha Pickens, who finished second with 615.25 points, and Arizona State’s Elina Eggers, who finished third with 586.80 points.
Freshman Jordan Gear also made his first Zone E competition appearance, finishing 16th in the men’s 3-meter with 614.05 points.
Ishimatsu will compete in the 3-meter on Friday, going for her third straight Zone E win, with prelims at 11 a.m. MST and finals at 1:45 p.m.
The men’s 1-meter prelims start Friday at 11 a.m., with the final starting at 12:45 p.m. Saturday is devoted to platform diving, with the women prelims and finals starting at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively. The men’s platform prelims start at 3:30 p.m., with finals at 5 p.m.