Razorbacks travel to Houston for NCAA Zone Diving

HOUSTON, Texas –  The University of Arkansas diving corps hit the boards on Monday for the first of the three-day NCAA Zone Diving competition hosted by the University of Houston. All four Razorback divers qualified for the competition.

Junior Kesha Naylor and freshmen Hannah Bortnick and Shelby Bartlett will compete in all three events, and Meghan Clark will compete on both springboards for the Razorbacks.

Competition is set to begin at 11 a.m. with the women’s three-meter board. Divers will qualify for the NCAA Championships based on their respective performances at their zone meet. A total of seven spots are allocated to the student-athletes competing in Zone D for the NCAA Championships.

The last time an Arkansas diver represented the Razorbacks at the NCAA Championship was Madison Palmer in 2008. Palmer would go one to earn All-America honors on the one-meter board.

The Razorback divers are not unfamiliar with the University of Houston, as they competed there earlier this season as a part of the Houston Cougar Swimming and Diving Invitational. While in Houston, the Razorback divers put together three days of solid performances led by Naylor whose consistent performances allowed her to final in all three events. Naylor’s best performance in Houston would come on the platform, where she bested 35 other divers to take first-place with a final score of 276. Naylor’s final score was also the fifth-best time in school history and her third-best performance on the platform.

Fans looking to follow the swimming and diving team as they compete at NCAA Zone Diving can do so by tuning in to ArkansasRazorbacks.com and following the Razorbacks on Twitter (@RazorbackSwim).