March 7, 2012

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Senior Britni Fisher and juniors Tessa Adams, Keri Eberhardt and Darragh McDermott will represent the Fighting Illini this week at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships, March 8-10 in Bloomington, Ind. The divers will face qualifying competitors from the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio. The one-meter competition takes place on Thursday, followed by the three-meter dive on Friday and platform diving on Saturday. Action begins each day at noon CT.

"I'm very optimistic about how we'll perform," Illini diving coach Chris Waters said. "The girls have been training very hard and looking very good on the boards. They're feeling strong and confident, which is always good in our sport. We can only control how well we perform, and they've prepared to perform very well. I am looking forward to seeing how they compete, and we will let how we place sort itself out. This is a very special meet and they're a special group of young ladies. It should be a terrific week."

Both Fisher and Adams earned spots in the competition for the third straight season by exceeding the NCAA-qualifying score of 265.0 in the one-meter dive, while Eberhardt and McDermott exceeded the mark for the first time. Fisher qualified with a school-record 298.27 against Nebraska, while Adams captured a lifetime-best 278.40 at the Minnesota Challenge. Eberhardt earned a personal-best 267.81 against Illinois State, and McDermott scored a lifetime-high 266.45 at the UIC-Wisconsin-Milwaukee tri-meet.

Fisher also qualified in the three-meter event, exceeding the NCAA-qualifying score of 280.0 with an Illini-record 319.65 against Illinois State on Senior Night.

The divers will compete off both springboards but will not participate in platform diving. All four Illini divers will strive to earn one of seven spots for the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, March 15-17 in Auburn, Ala.