The Florida diving team showed out at the 2025 NCAA Zone B Championships in Auburn, Alabama, with divers securing spots for each event at the upcoming NCAA Championships in Federal Way, Washington.
The annual meet was the last opportunity for divers to clinch a spot in the NCAA Championships. This year, five Gators earned a ticket to Washington.
Sophomore Conor Gesing finished third in the 1-meter springboard competition, making him the first Gator diver to earn a spot. Gesing, the 2025 SEC 1-meter champion, earned the second seed going into the finals with a preliminary score of 357.00. He moved from seventh to third place with an impressive third dive, a reverse 2 1/2 somersault tuck that earned a score of 64.40. Gesing’s final combined score of 699.30 qualified him for the championship for the second year in a row.
Despite strong performances, junior Peyton Donald and sophomore Jesus Gonzalez narrowly missed the 1-meter qualifying spots.
Donald entered the finals in tenth place after recording three consecutive scores over 60 points in prelims and a 30 in Round 6. In finals, he scored two dives above 63 points, but finished ninth with a combined score of 668.10.
Gonzalez started strong on his first dive with a 68.20, which was enough to put him in first, but fell to ninth after his final dive. In the championship round, he finished 11th with a combined score of 664.35.
On day two, Donald and Gonzalez bounced back to punch an NCAA Championship ticket in the men’s 3-meter event. After barely missing the top seven in the 1-meter, both divers needed comeback performances.
Donald delivered a consistent performance throughout the prelims and finals. He earned four scores above 60, including two dives in Round 5 that scored 73.50. Donald finished fifth overall with a combined score of 751.95, solidifying his spot in the NCAA Championship.
Gonzalez was the seventh seed entering the finals. He finished seventh overall with a total score of 736.85, and earned a place in the championship with Donald.
The women’s competition began on day two. Sophomore Camyla Monroy stood out after she qualified with a strong finals performance in the 1-meter event. She placed third in the prelims and propelled to first in the finals.
Day 3 featured more action in the women’s 3-meter and men’s platform events.
Monroy qualified for the 3-meter — her second event — with a combined score of 682.85, which put her in sixth place.
In the men’s platform, junior Elisha Dees made his Zones debut and advanced to the finals with 11th overall after improving from 15th in prelims. Despite his solid performances, he fell short of one of the top-six spots needed to go to the championship.
Gesing, who had qualified in both springboard events, finished 20th in platform and just missed the top-18 cutoff.
On the final day of the competition, Greenberg and Monroy earned tickets to the NCAA Championship in the women’s platform event.
Greenberg was in eighth place after prelims with a score of 291.40 and added a 56.55 on her final dive to finish with a combined score of 523.40. Her performance was enough to put her in seventh place by just 0.10 of a point and earned her first career NCAA Championships qualification.
Monroy, who had qualified in both springboard events, continued her strong performance in platform diving. She finished fifth with a combined score of 566.50, solidifying her third NCAA qualification in all three events.
Florida will next travel to Federal Way, Washington, to appear in the NCAA Championships to close out the season. The women’s competition will take place on March 19 through March 22 and the men’s team will take over on March 26 to March 29.
Contact Isabella Sanin at isanin@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @BellaaSanin.
Isabella is a senior sports journalism major and the Spring 2025 swim and dive reporter. This is her third semester at The Alligator. In her free time, she enjoys cheering on her favorite sports teams and baking.
