Day 2 of the NCAA Zone “B” Diving Regional Championships wrapped up with two divers in the finals for the Gators, but neither qualified for the national championships being held later this month.
The top nine divers in the finals advance from the 43-women field to the NCAA meet, which starts on March 20.
Sophomore Kahlia Warner was in position to be the first Gator in two years to advance past regionals after finishing prelims in eighth place on the 3-meter springboard.
Going last in the diving order was an advantage for Warner.
She started off strong, moving up to seventh place after the first of six dives in the final.
But she couldn’t hold on.
A meager four-point difference kept her from advancing, as she slipped to 12th place at the conclusion of Day 2.
Warner was only two places away from qualifying in Monday’s 1-meter springboard final, finishing in 11th place but more than nine points behind ninth place.
Sophomore Delaney Dye placed 24th on Tuesday in the 3-meter board prelims and missed the finals after a 17th-place finish in Monday’s final.
Florida’s men had a better performance than they did on Day 1
Redshirt senior Chris Jones made the 1-meter finals with just 3.3 points separating him from missing out on the action.
The smaller men’s field of 32 competitors advances only seven divers, and Jones fell 10 places behind that mark.
Although he moved up a spot to 17th place in the finals, his score was almost 15 points lower than his prelim performance.
Similar to Monday’s outing, sophomore Zach Hernandez placed in the back of the pack by finishing his event in 30th place Tuesday.
The Gators will still have two more chances to make NCAAs today as both the men and women take to the platforms on the third and final day of competition.
Follow Logan McGuire on Twitter @loganjmcguire
