UB Divers Complete First Day of Zone Championships

Michael McDowell

PISCATAWAY, NJ – Two University at Buffalo divers completed the first day of the 2007 NCAA Zone A Championships at the Rutgers Aquatic Center on Friday with good marks.

Freshman divers Michael McDowell (Rush, NY/Rush-Henrietta) and Meili Carpenter (Boulder, CO/Fairview) reached the finals on Friday on their respective springboards.

McDowell competed in the men’s one-meter event on Friday. In the preliminary round, McDowell totaled 256.75 points to tie for 14th place with Rider’s Dylan Korn to advance into the final round. McDowell moved up to eighth in the finals with a total score of 537.95 points. Penn State’s Mike Alderman won the individual title and a spot in the NCAA Championships field with a total score of 687.70 points.

Meili Carpenter

In the women’s three-meter event, Carpenter moved into finals after placing 15th in the preliminaries with 231.35 points. In the final round, Carpenter rose to a finish of 11th, scoring 481.10 points. Syracuse’s Alida DiPalcido took first place with a total score of 639.35 points and also led after the preliminary round.

A total of 25 men’s divers and 33 women’s divers competed on Friday’s events. The top 18 scorers in both disciplines moved into the final round. The zone championships are being held in five geographic regions this weekend with slots available in the upcoming NCAA Championships to the top finishers in each region.

Competition continues through the weekend.