Diving to Send Five to 2016 NCAA Championships

ATLANTA — Five University of Miami divers ensured return trips to Atlanta for the 2016 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships with qualifying finishes at the NCAA Zone B Championships held on the Georgia Tech campus this week.

Joining Briadam Herrera on the men’s side will be Tanner Wilfong, who delivered a strong showing in the platform Wednesday. After finishing second in preliminaries with a score of 370.85 – just six points off Dylan Grisell of Florida State – Wilfong delivered a score of 778.65 to hold second place in the final round.

Herrera will be competing in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events; he finished in fourth place in the 3-meter and 11th in the 1-meter.

Wilfong was not the only platform diver to impress Wednesday. Sophomore Wally Layland, who guaranteed herself the opportuntiy to compete in both the 3-meter and 1-meter events earlier in the week, also finished second on the platform on the women’s side.

Layland was second with a score of 286.80 in preliminaries, and posted a score of 583.55 to finish in second – just behind Rachel Rubadue of Tennessee (584.10). Layland will be the only Miami diver competing in all three events at the NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships – set for March 16-19 at the McAuley Aquatic Center.

Layland will be joined by senior Kara McCormack, who finished sixth in the 3-meter on Tuesday, and freshman Carolyn Chaney, who was fifth in the 1-meter. McCormack, who posted a seventh-place finish in the 1-meter, will be competing in both events when the Hurricanes return to Atlanta.

Herrera and Wilfong will travel to Atlanta for the Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships from March 23-26 at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, where Georgia Tech will serve as host.