UM Trio Excels on Day One of Zone Championships

March 14, 2008

<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>AUBURN, Ala.– Three University of Miami divers opened competition Friday at the 2008 NCAA Zone `B’ Diving Championships in Auburn, Ala. with all three placing in the field’s Top 10 in their respective events. On the men’s side, sophomore Reuben Ross and freshman J.J. Kinzbach placed second and fourth respectively in the men’s three-meter event while sophomore Brittany Viola finished seventh in the women’s one-meter event at the JamesE.MartinAquaticsCenter.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

Ross had UM’s top finish Friday, with a second-place finish in the three-meter event with a score of 375.50, trailing only Christopher Colwill of the University of Georgia, who came in at 428.55. Kinzbach came in two spots behind Ross in his first appearance at the Zone Championships, finishing fourth with a mark of 362.50.

Viola’s score of 258.55 was good enough for a seventh-place finish in the women’s one-meter event while South Carolina’s Taryn Zuck came away with the top score of 288.80.

Hosted by AuburnUniversity, the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships is a three-day meet, bringing together the top divers from 25 colleges and universities from the southeastern United States.

The top 12 women and top 10 men from the weekend’s events will advance to the 2008 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. The women’s championship is scheduled for March 20-22 in Columbus, Ohio, while the men’s is slated for March 27-29 in Federal Way, Wash.

Saturday’s competition begins at 12 p.m. with the women’s three-meter event and the men’s one-meter event.

For updated results from this weekend’s action in Auburn, click here.