AUSTIN, Texas – Nathan Gonzales and Morgan Cooper earned their second 1A zone cut of the season on the 1-meter, while freshman Elizabeth Holmes received her first BYU 1A zone cut on the 1-meter during the second day of the UT Diving Invite at the Lee and Joe Jamail Swimming Center.
“This has been a wonderful meet to give our divers some finals event experience and get accustomed to the pressure,” BYU diving head coach Tyce Routson said. “I am happy we qualified three men on 3-meter and two women on 1-meter into the finals tonight. Lizzie Holmes stepped it up in finals and earned her NCAA zone qualifying score and personal best. Nathan Gonzalez has performed career bests on 1-meter and 3-meter this invitational against some very quality divers."
The second day of the UT Invite started off with the women’s 1-meter prelims. Holmes placed seventh with a score of 263.40 followed by Morgan Mellow at 234.30, both qualifying for finals.
In the women’s 1-meter finals, Holmes posted a career high score of 276.15 earning her first BYU 1A zone cut and seventh place in the competition. Mellow followed in eighth place with a season-high score of 253.45.
In the men’s prelims for the 3-meter, three Cougars qualified for finals. Gonzales placed third with a career best at 366.50, earning him a 1A zone cut. Morgan Cooper who placed fifth with a season-high score of 320.55, also earned a 1A zone cut. Matt Denkers also qualified for finals, placing seventh at 283.35.
Both Gonzales and Cooper now have 1A zone cuts in both the 1-meter and 3-meter, qualifying to complete in both events at the NCAA Zone E Diving Championships in March.
In the men’s 3-meter finals, Gonzales placed fourth with a score of 339.20. Morgan Cooper posted a score of 291.00 earning sixth place, followed by Matt Denkers in seventh with a score of 290.25.
The competition finishes up tomorrow afternoon with a combined men’s and women’s platform competition at noon CST. Live results are available on the swim and dive schedule page.