Jayhawk Divers Head to Zones Ready and Rested
March 6, 2012
IOWA CITY, Iowa – For the second straight year, Kansas junior Christy Cash will be toeing the boards for the Jayhawks, when she competes at the NCAA Zone ‘D’ Diving Championships in Iowa City, Iowa, March 9-11. Accompanying her this time around will be teammate Alyssa Golden, who will be making her initial trip to the event.
“I think it’s going to be real nice because going by yourself is never fun,” Cash thought. “You get used to traveling to every meet with someone, so it is always more fun to have a teammate along with you.”
‘That teammate’ is excited to have qualified for Zone’s for the very first time, and will be taking her trip to the Hawkeye State in stride.
“I am a little nervous because it is my first one, but I think it is more important for me to just go out there, have fun with it, and not really have many expectations for myself,” Golden said. “I feel like I will perform better that way.”
Regardless of her expectations, the sophomore feels that having her junior diving counterpart alongside, will benefit her.
“We feed off each other and work well together, so I think that she (Cash) will really help me when we are there,” Golden explained.
While the Portage, Mich. native will be diving with a blank slate, her teammate will try and improve upon the foundation she built for herself during last year’s Zone ‘D’ Diving Championships in Austin, Texas. Cash finished 22nd in the platform (182.20), 30th in one meter competition (225.40) and 33rd on the three meter boards with a score of 224.40.
Christy is lucky that she has a year under her belt of diving at the meet,” diving coach Eric Elliott said. “So I think this year she will be a lot more prepared for what to expect.”
What the two Kansas divers can expect is the best possible competition in a region that stretches across the central time zone, covering schools from the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC to name a few. Out of nearly 50 female divers who compete during the three day event, only a dozen will move on to the NCAA Championships in Auburn, Ala. later this month.
“This will be a great learning experience for them both because they will be able to see what it takes for them to get into NCAA’s,” Elliott explained.”
While the NCAA Championships are the ultimate goal, like Golden, Cash too will just be diving her best and trying not to worry where her score places her.
“It is all about the experience,” the junior from Lenexa, Kan. said. “To get the feel of how to compete at that high of a level is good because it’s not something you are able to experience during the regular season.”
Both Cash and Golden earned their respective spots at Zone’s with stellar dives against Nebraska-Omaha, Nov. 19in Lawrence. For Elliott, this marks the eighth consecutive year at least one of his divers has competed at the Zone ‘D’ Diving Championships.
Action in Iowa City gets underway Thursday, March 8, with warm-ups for the one meter taking place at 9 a.m. A complete schedule of events can be found below.
2012 NCAA Zone ‘D’ Diving Schedule
Thu 03/08-9:00 AM – 10:30 AM CST : Warm Ups
(One Meter) 11:00 AM CST : Events Start
Fri 03/09-9:00 AM – 10:30 AM CST : Warm Ups
(Three Meter)-11:00 AM CST : Events Start
Sat 03/10-9:00 AM – 10:30 AM CST : Warm Ups
(Platform)-11:00 AM CST : Events Start
Zone ‘D’ Diving Coverage: http://diving.isport.com/diving-events/2012-ncaa-zone-d-championships-134914
Live Results: https://secure.meetcontrol.com/divemeets/system/meetinfoext.php?meetnum=1992
