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Trio of Illini Headed to NCAA Zone Diving Championships
A
trio of Illinois divers will be heading to the NCAA Zone Championships
in Columbus, Ohio on March 12-14. Senior Erika Murphy, sophomore Olivia
Kassouni and freshman Raquel Corniuk will all be competing after
meeting the qualifying standards earlier this season.
“The
girls have continued to show improvement throughout the year,” said
diving coach Chris Waters. “Erika had a really nice performance at the
Big Ten Championships, and Raquel has been moving up on the platform
all season. I look for that trend to continue in this competition.”
The
championships kick off on Thursday with three-meter diving prelims at 1
p.m. ET, followed by finals. Friday features one-meter diving prelims
and finals at 1 p.m. ET. Competition wraps up on Sunday with prelims
and finals of platform diving beginning at 11 a.m. ET.
Each
of Illinois three divers has led the team in one of the three diving
disciplines this season. Murphy had the top one-meter mark this season,
posting a score of 269.70 against Iowa on Jan. 17. Kassouni was the top
three-meter diver for Illinois, scoring a season-best 290.02 points
against Iowa. In platform diving, Corniuk led the way, setting a new
school record with 254.85 points at the Big Ten Championships.
Heading into NCAA Zone Diving Championships, Waters has stressed staying positive during the competition.
“The
girls need to be comfortable with the improvements they have been
making throughout the season,” said Waters. “I am confident in their
ability to apply the things we have been working on in practice to the
competition. We are looking for good things to happen.”
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