ROCHESTER, Mich. – Oakland University's swimming and diving team will send three divers to this year's NCAA Zone C Diving Championships, hosted by Eastern Michigan University at Jones Natatorium. The three-day meet will run from March 9-11, with competitors battling for a spot at the NCAA Championships.
Representing the Golden Grizzlies are seniors Victoria Sanders and Liam James, along with sophomore Elizabeth Woollcott. Sanders will compete on both the one- and three-meter boards, James will dive on the three-meter, and Woollcott will compete on the one-meter.
Sanders has qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in all four years of her Oakland career. As a freshman, she qualified for the one-meter, and in each of the last two seasons she has competed in both the one- and three-meter events. Her top finish came in 2024, when she placed 27th on the three-meter with 249.40 points.
One of Oakland's top divers all season, Sanders enters Zones with an impressive list of accomplishments. She placed third in both events at the Horizon League Championships, was named Horizon League Diver of the Week twice, and finished in the top three in six diving events across six regular-season meets. Sanders qualified for the one-meter in her first meet of the season against Purdue and Cincinnati with 278.70 points, and secured her three-meter qualification at the Golden Grizzly Classic with a score of 281.10.
Both James and Woollcott are making their first NCAA Zones appearances this year. At the Horizon League Championships, James recorded the best conference finish of his career on the three-meter, placing third in a strong field. He earned his first trip to Zones with an impressive first-place three-meter performance, scoring 343.13 points against Wayne State. Woollcott also qualified against Wayne State after posting 267.68 points on the one-meter. The sophomore performed well at conferences, advancing to the finals in both diving events and improving her podium placements from her freshman season.
On Monday, Sanders will be the lone member of the trio competing, opening on the three-meter at 1 p.m. (EST). All three divers will compete on Tuesday, starting with Sanders and Woollcott on the one-meter board, followed by James on the three-meter. The meet concludes on Wednesday with platform diving, an event with no Oakland participants.
To qualify for the NCAA Championships out of Zone C, there are seven women's and eight men's spots available in the one-meter dive. In the three-meter, 10 qualification spots are up for grabs for both men and women. Sanders, James, and Woollcott must meet or exceed those places to punch their ticket.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
(All three days of the meet will be available to stream on Eastern Michigan University Athletics' YouTube channel)
Monday, March 9 | 1 PM
Men's One-Meter Dive
Women's Three-Meter Dive
Tuesday, March 10 | 1 PM
Women's One-Meter Dive
Men's Three-Meter Dive
Wednesday, March 11 | 10:45 AM & 5:15 PM
Platform Diving
Live results for each session in Ypsilanti can be found on DiveMeets.
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