UCLA
Zone E Diving Championships
Butler, Cheng Earn Multiple NCAA Qualifications at Zone E Championships
March 06, 2023 | Swimming & Diving
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. โ Freshman Eden Cheng earned NCAA qualification in all three events and senior Hannah Butler double-qualified in 1M and 3M for the third consecutive year as UCLA had a strong collective performance at the 2023 Zone E Diving Championships at the Weyerhauser King County Aquatics Center.
DAY ONE RECAP
Senior Hannah Butler and freshman Eden Cheng each earned auto-qualifiers to NCAAs in 3-meter diving on Monday to highlight UCLA's first day of action at the 2023 Zone E Diving Championships at Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center.
Butler finished third in the 49-diver field with a combined score of 624.60. Cheng also secured an auto-qualifier spot after placing sixth at 609.45.
Sophomore Zoe Jespersgaard had a strong showing of her own, placing 10th with a combined score of 593.15.
Each of the top eight finishers in Monday's championship received an automatic bid into NCAAs. Divers nine through 12 โ Jespersgaard included โ will receive a bid into NCAAs in 3M should they secure an auto-bid in another event this week.
All three of UCLA's entries on Monday improved their scores from prelims to finals, including huge jumps for Butler and Jespersgaard.
After sitting on the outside of the auto-bid bubble in ninth at the end of prelims, Butler posted a season-best score of 329.45 in finals to jump all the way up to third place.
Similarly, Jespersgaard jumped seven spots from her prelims finish, posting a 322.10 in the finals session. It was her third-best score in 3M this season, and the best in a non-dual format.
Cheng meanwhile was steady throughout the competition, finishing first among Bruins in prelims (301.75) before posting a 307.70 in finals. The latter was her second-best score of the 2022-23 campaign.
For all three Bruins, it was their highest-ever finish in a Zones championship. Butler had previously recorded a pair of top-five finishes in 1M at Zones, but never hit the podium. Cheng was making her NCAA Zones debut.
UCLA resumes action at the Zone Championships on Tuesday with the platform championship. Cheng will be the Bruins' lone entry in that competition. She set a UCLA school record on tower (324.60) en route to a third-place finish at the 2023 Pac-12 Championships.
DAY TWO RECAP
Eden Cheng continued her strong outing at Zones with a runner-up finish in the platform competition on Tuesday, securing double-qualification to the 2023 NCAA Championships.
The Bruins' lone entry on tower, Cheng finished with a combined score of 599.95. She started off with a 308.20 in prelims โ her fourth time breaking the 300-point mark in platform this year โ and followed up with a 291.75 in the finals session.
Cheng was in second place nearly start-to-finish. She sat in third place after the first round of prelims, but jumped one spot after scoring 68.80 on her second dive, an inward 3 ยฝ somersault tuck. She netted 72.00 points, her most single-dive points all day, during prelims on the final dive in her list, a back 2 ยฝ somersault 1 ยฝ twist pike.
She sat comfortably in second place for the entirety of finals. USC's Nike Agunbiade (572.65) made a late charge to get within proximity of Cheng, but couldn't close the gap. Arizona's Delaney Schnell finished first with a score of 745.00.
UCLA concludes Zones on Wednesday with three entries in 1-meter: Hannah Butler, Cheng, and Zoe Jespersgaard.
DAY THREE RECAP
All three of UCLA's entries finished in the top-11 of the 1-meter championship on Wednesday as the Bruins wrapped up their time at the 2023 Zone E Diving Championships.
Senior Hannah Butler (567.20) was the Bruins' highest finisher, taking eighth place. Sophomore Zoe Jespersgaard (563.10) was right behind her in ninth place, and freshman Eden Cheng (548.50) came in 11th.
By virtue of their auto-bids earlier in the week, Butler (3M) and Cheng (3M, platform) each secured invites to NCAAs in 1M after finishing top-12 at Zones.
Cheng becomes UCLA's first triple-qualifier in diving since Eloise Belanger in 2019. Butler double-qualified in the springboard events for the third consecutive season.
Jespersgaard led the Bruins at the end of prelims on Wednesday, sitting in sixth (the final auto-bid position) with a score of 286.75. Butler (271.80) and Cheng (266.55) also secured finals berths.
In the finals session, Butler recorded a 295.40 to jump three spots in the standings. That score was the highest of any Bruin in 1M so far this season. Cheng (281.95) also edged out her previous collegiate-best score to jump into a top-12 position.
UCLA's group of seven NCAA qualifiers โ Butler and Cheng will be joined by sophomore Eva Carlson, senior Gabby Dang, fifth-year Claire Grover, sophomore Paige MacEachern, and senior Rachel Rhee โ will compete at the 2023 NCAA Championships from Mar. 15-18 in Knoxville, Tenn.
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Players Mentioned
