The Illinois diving team failed to qualify for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships after competing at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships in Columbus, Ohio this weekend.

Juniors Erika Murphy, Emily Fung and freshman Olivia Kassouni competed for the Illini on Thursday and Friday.

“It was a bit of rough competition today for many of the divers,” diving coach Chris Waters said after Thursday’s competition. “Unfortunately, we still have a few too many errors. They kept battling, though, so there were some positives.”

On Thursday, Murphy started off the competition for the Illini in the 1-meter dive. She earned a score of 242.90, finishing 24 out of 45 divers and falling six spots short of qualifying for the 18-person final.  

Kassouni finished with a 206.25 in the 1-meter dive while Fung earned a score of 202.85.

Kassouni led the Illini in the 3-meter dive with a score of 223.65 on Friday. Murphy earned a score of 207.55 while Fung posted a 193.45.

Kaixuan Zhang from Southern Illinois won the 3-meter dive with a score of 342.30 in the preliminary round and 367.60 in the final round. Casey Matthews from Purdue placed first in the 1-meter dive, scoring 313.85 in the preliminary round and 302.35 in the final round.

“Erika had a really good day (on Thursday),” Waters said. “She was very focused and performed well. I was really happy for her and it was terrific to see her dive well in such a meet.”

Michal can be reached at [email protected] and @bennythebull94.