Sports Swimming & Diving

Cougar divers fall short of qualifying for NCAA Championships

Jane Figueiredo has been awarded C-USA diving coach of the year each season since it was created in 2002. | Courtesy of UH Athletics

No University of Houston divers qualified to move on, but each of them will return for at least one more season next year. | Courtesy of UH Athletics

 

Three Cougars competed in the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships, but none of them qualified to move on to the NCAA Championships.

Redshirt junior Micaela Bouter, the American Athletic Conference Most Outstanding Diver, freshman Lauren Burrell and freshman Katelyn Abernathy all competed in the 3-meter dive and the 1-meter dive. Only Abernathy competed in the platform dive.

On the first day in the 3-meter dive, Bouter barely missed qualifying, ranking ninth overall. Only the top seven qualified.

Abernathy, who won silver in the 3-meter dive for the American Athletic Conference Championship, ranked No. 37 in the preliminaries. Burrell finished at No. 26.

For the one-meter dive, Bouter again barely missed out. She ranked No. 11 overall while only the top seven moved on.

Burrell finished No. 31 overall, and Abernathy finished at No. 36.

In the platform dive, Abernathy finished at No. 23.

While none of the Cougar divers qualified for the NCAA Championships, all of these divers will be returning next year. Both freshmen who made it to zones, Burrell and Abernathy are sure to have prolific collegiate swimming careers. Bouter will return for her final year and needs only slight improvement in order to qualify next season.

This competition marked the end of the season for the Cougar diving team. The swimming team will compete in the USA Swimming Arena Pro Series from April 13 through April 15 in Mesa, Arizona.

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