For the first time in her UF career, Kahlia Warner will be competing at the NCAA Championships.
The junior diver from Queensland, Australia, solidified her spot in the national meet on Monday by placing seventh in the three-meter dive at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships in Athens, Georgia.
By advancing to the NCAA Championship meet, Warner became the first UF women’s diver to reach the meet since 2011.
“It’s exciting for Kahlia and our team,” UF diving coach Dale Schultz said in a release. “Donnie Craine had a lot of success at the NCAA meet and with the system that’s (in) place, we are just trying to continue and build off Florida’s tradition.”
While Warner and the women’s team saw success on Day 1 of qualifying — junior Emily Mosher reached the finals and placed 16th on Monday — the men’s team did not fare as well.
Competing in the one-meter dive on the first day of the meet, redshirt junior Zach Hernandez led Florida with a 21st-place finish while redshirt freshman Dalton Goss finished in 30th.
“The one-meter has been the weakest event for our men this year,” Schultz said. “We knew that coming in here so our guys are just excited to start getting up a little higher.”
The Gators will look to qualify more divers for the NCAA Championship today, with the men competing in the three-meter dive and the women taking on the one-meter dive.
Competition ends Wednesday with all divers competing on the platform.
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Khalia Warner competes on the three-meter dive during UF's win against Arkansas in the O'Connell Center.
