Pepperdine University will be represented at the NCAA Diving Zone E Championships by freshman Jackie Johnson. The event takes place on March 9 and 10 at Northern Arizona University’s Wall Aquatic Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. Johnson is scheduled to compete at 11:30 a.m. PST on both days.
“This meet is a very high level of competition considering you have to hit a certain qualifying score to participate,” said diving coach Monique Demaisip. “I always love having the opportunity to bring our divers, as it is a great experience and exposure for them and Pepperdine’s swim and dive program as a whole. I’m thrilled Jackie gets to experience diving zones as a freshman and excited to see what she can do!”
At the championships, the top 18 finishers in each event—the 1-meter, 3-meter, and platform dives—advance to the final round. The five highest-scoring women from that round will qualify for the National Championships in Atlanta, Georgia.
Johnson holds Pepperdine’s program record in the 1-meter dive with a score of 283.80 set this season. She also set the school’s 3-meter record at 289.90 points during her debut campaign. Johnson will compete in the 1-meter event on Monday and return for the 3-meter event on Tuesday.
She becomes just the eleventh diver from Pepperdine to qualify for an NCAA diving zone meet. Vivian Vallely, who qualified for this year’s championship earlier in January, will not compete due to injury.
If Johnson secures a top-five finish at Zones, she would advance to Atlanta for Nationals from March 18-21. Meanwhile, Pepperdine’s swim team will participate with one relay squad at the National Invitational Championships in Ocala, Florida from March 12-14.
Pepperdine swimming & diving has achieved notable success over its history of more than forty years, including three conference championships in recent seasons after joining MPSF and previously competing in PCSC where Waves athletes collected numerous individual titles and awards.
For updates on Pepperdine swim and dive news, fans can follow @PepperdineWSD on social media.
