Moretti Qualifies for NCAAs on 3-Meter Board

Monday, March 7

Atlanta, Ga.

All Day

Duke University

Day One at NCAA Zone B Diving Championships

Moretti Qualifies for NCAAs on 3-Meter Board

3/7/2016 9:19:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

Live Results Results

By: Duke Sports Information

ATLANTA – Freshman diver Evan Moretti punched his ticket to the 2016 NCAA Championship Monday, highlighting the opening day of competition at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships, held at Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatic Center.

Moretti secured a spot in the men's 3-meter springboard final with 360.30 points in the preliminary round. He then added 348.05 more on his finals list to come in 10th overall (708.35), assuring him a trip back to Atlanta in two weeks for the NCAA Championship.

In Monday evening's final, the Scarsdale, N.Y., native topped the 60-point mark on each of his first four dives. He garnered an award of 70.50 in the second round on a forward 2 ½ somersault with one twist for a 3.0 degree of difficulty. Moretti followed up that dive with 69.70 points on a forward 2 ½ somersault with two twists for a 3.4 degree of difficulty, keeping him solidly within the top 10.

Moretti was joined in the 3-meter final by teammate Josh Owsiany, who was also impressive in his first Zones appearance. The rookie earned 336.60 points during preliminaries before finishing the night with a combined score of 683.10 to place 12th.

On the women's side, freshman Mackenzie Willborn advanced to the women's 1-meter springboard finals in her Zones debut. She totaled 257.10 points in preliminaries to earn a qualifying spot in 18th, and improved upon her list in finals to earn a score of 262.80. Willborn's best finals dive came in the second round, when she received an award of 50.70 on a forward 2 ½ somersault for a 2.6 degree of difficulty.

The 519.90 combined points placed the Duke rookie 17th overall.

Monday morning's preliminaries saw sophomore MaryEllen Targonski finish 24th (246.00) and junior Kirby Quinn 25th (243.60).

Tuesday's events in Atlanta include preliminaries and finals of the men's 1-meter and women's 3-meter competitions. For Zone B, 10 NCAA qualifying spots are up for grabs in the men's 1-meter event and eight in women's 3-meter diving.

Top Duke Finishers by Event:

Women's 1-Meter Diving: Mackenzie Willborn (17th), 519.90

Men's 3-Meter Diving: Evan Moretti (10th), 708.35

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