Gillis Earns Second NCAA Bid In Two Days

March 7, 2017

COLUMBIA, Mo. — A day removed from qualifying for the NCAA Championships on the 3m springboard, Nicole Gillis earned a 10th place finish in the 1m on Tuesday at the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships at the Mizzou Aquatic Center to qualify for the NCAA Championships.

Having already qualified for NCAAs in the 3m, all Gillis needed was a top-12 finish in the 1m instead of a top-seven finish to pick up her second bid in two days. Gillis advanced to the finals after finishing 11th in the prelims with a score of 288.25. The junior went on to record a 300.60 in the finals for a top-12 finish and a 12-dive total of 588.85, earning her a second NCAA bid in as many days.

“I am really proud of what Nicole has done so far this week,” said diving coach Dale Schultz. “Her prelim performance was not her best but she knew what she needed to do to advance to the NCAA Championships and she did just that.”

Placing 279.00 on the 1m last year at the NCAA Championships, Gillis will get the opportunity to improve her 20th place performance.

Sophomore Marissa Green finished 29th with a score of 249.05 on Tuesday, sophomore Molly Harvie scored a 239.65 to finish 33rd, while freshman Caroline Welch scored a 192.20 to conclude in 43rd.

A total of 322 participants (281 swimmers and 41 divers) will compete in the NCAA Championships. Three Arkansas swimmers have received invites to the championships, as Mary Margaret Soderberg (200 IM, 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke), Chelsea Tatlow (200 IM, 100 backstroke and 200 butterfly) and Ayumi Macias (200, 500 and 1650 freestyle) will all travel to Indianapolis to compete. The complete list of swimmers competing in the championships is available at www.usaswimming.org/ncaa. Selected divers will be announced Sunday, March 12, following the Zone Diving Meets that are being held March 6-11.

ESPN3.com will stream the championships finals sessions live on Friday and Saturday. Wednesday’s evening session, Thursday’s sessions along with the morning sessions on Friday and Saturday will be streamed live on NCAA.com and www.indianasportscorp.org/ncaasd. Additionally, ESPNU will air a two-hour broadcast via tape delay at 7 p.m. Eastern time, Tuesday, March 28. Live results for the championships will be available on NCAA.com.

The final day of competition at the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships will begin at 4:05 p.m. as divers will compete on the platform.

For more information on Arkansas Swimming and Diving, follow @RazorbackSD on Twitter.