Seven Divers to Represent NU at NCAA Zone D Competition

Coming off second-place finishes at their respective Big 12 Championships, the Nebraska men's and women's diving squads will attempt to advance to the NCAA Championships this weekend at the NCAA Zone D Diving competition in Fayetteville, Ark., on March 12-13.

Three men and four women from the NU squad qualified for the competition, including senior captain Danny Bergman, Erik Cook, Gabe Downey, Amanda Zins, Molly McDonald, Tammi Bernth and senior captain Samantha Ashley.

Seven men and eight women will advance from the Zone D competition to the NCAA Championships.

Weekend Outlook
Four-time All-American and two-time Big 12 Champion Danny Bergman (Alpine, Utah) will attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the third-consecutive season. Coming off a first-place finish on the three meter at the Big 12 Championships, Bergman qualified for the NCAA meet last season by placing second on the three meter and third on the one meter at the Zone D meet. Competing at the NCAA Championships in each of the past two seasons, Bergman has finished seventh on the one meter, while he has placed ninth and 16th on the three meter, respectively.

Competing at the Texas All-American Diving Invitational in January, Bergman capped a four-day weekend by placing third in the Austin Cup event (open three-meter competition). Tallying a school-record 11-dive score of 637.90 points, Bergman eclipsed the old NU record of 617.45 set by U.S. National Team member Travis Niemeyer at the 1996 Big Eight Championships. Bergman also owns the NU six-dive mark on the one meter, tallying 363.60 points versus TCU in 1997.

Competing in his third NCAA Zone competition, Erik Cook (Aurora, Colo.) took last season off, sitting out as a redshirt due to injury. Cook is coming off a career-best performance at the Big 12 Championships, finishing third on both the one meter and platform, while also placing fifth on the three meter. On Nov. 6 versus TCU, Cook established a new NU six-dive record on the three meter, as his score of 384.15 broke the old mark of 378.83 held by Bergman.

Freshman Gabe Downey (Merriam, Kan.) makes his debut in NCAA Zone competition. Downey was a double finalist for NU at the Big 12 Championships, placing fifth in the platform competition and seventh on the one meter.

NU's top female diver over the past two seasons, sophomore Amanda Zins (Lincoln, Neb.) is making her second NCAA Zone appearance. Zins recently finished fifth on the one meter and sixth on the three meter at the Big 12 Championships. At the 1998 NCAA Zone D meet, Zins placed seventh on the one meter and 10th on the three meter.

Another sophomore, Molly McDonald (Bismarck, N.D.) is making her second-consecutive NCAA Zone appearance. McDonald, who is coming off a ninth-place showing on the one meter at the Big 12 Championships, finished 20th on both the one and three meter at the NCAA Zone D meet last season.

Samantha Ashley (Windsor, Colo.) and Tami Bernth (Omaha, Neb.) are making their debut in NCAA Zone competition. Both Ashley and Bernth were exhibition competitors at the Big 12 Championships however, the pair put together impressive seasons. Bernth qualified for the finals on the one meter at the Big 12 Championships, despite being a non-scored competitor, while Ashley returned to her home state on Nov. 8, placing second on the one meter with a personal best six dive score of 270.37.