Lester Places Fourth, Qualifies for NCAA's

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Junior Lindsay Lester became the second Miami Hurricane diver to qualify for the NCAA Championships Tuesday, taking fourth place in the one-meter event at Zone B qualifying.

Lester, who finished just under the automatic qualifying line Monday by finishing fifth in the three-meter, joined senior Carrie Dragland as NCAA qualifiers. Dragland, who redshirted the 2011-12 season, punched her ticket with a fourth-place showing in the three-meter at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center.

Despite her No. 8 seed entering Tuesday’s finals, Lester delivered a final round score of 303.35 to place among the event’s top finishers. The final round boost saw Lester take the crucial fourth-place standing over Tennessee’s Jody McGroarty, earning the last qualifying spot by an edge of less than five points (584.10 – 579.35).

Sophomore Kara McCormack qualified for the finals with a seventh-place score in preliminaries (281.60), but her final round total of 296.45 placed her under the NCAA-qualifying line at No. 6. Dragland took 10th with a final score of 557.40.

With the addition of Lester, the Hurricanes will have at least five participants at the 2013 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships in Indianapolis, Ind. The junior will join Dragland and a trio of swimmers (Celeste Degen, Sofia Johansson and Lucy Worrall) for the three-day event at the IU Natatorium.

Wednesday marks the last day of Zone B qualifying from the Allan Jones Aquatic Center, with the men’s and women’s platform scheduled for completion.