Completed Event: Swimming and Diving at UNI on January 10, 2026 , Win , 171, to, 129
Final
Swimming and Diving
171
UNI
129
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Iowa State University Athletics
Tran and Christensen Prep for Zone Diving
03.09.2010 | Swimming and Diving
AMES, Iowa- Divers Tien Tran and Abby Christensen will compete at the NCAA Zone ?D' Diving Championships starting on Friday at Texas A&M University. The three-day event will feature preliminary diving beginning at 11 a.m. with finals to begin approximately at 1:30 p.m.
41 divers earn the right to go to the NCAA Championships from five regional zones. Each of the five zones are guaranteed four spots to the NCAA Championships and the remaining 21 spots are based off of performances at the NCAA Championships from the previous year. Iowa State's zone experienced an outstanding weekend last year with eight different divers finishing in the top nine of at least one event to lock up a record 12 spots for the zone in 2010.
“I was really happy, the more spots the better,” diving coach Jeff Warrick said. “That gives everyone more of a chance to go, but that also means that our zone is super strong and has a lot of depth.”
Tran continues to write her legacy as an Iowa State diver going into this meet. With her fifth-place finishes on 3-meter and platform at the Big 12 Championships, Tran increased her tab of All-Big 12 honors to seven. In the platform finals, Tran took down the school record, putting up a score of 271.75. That is the second school record for Tran, with her 338.55 on 3-meter against Nebraska-Omaha last October also being a school standard.
Tran will be competing at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships for the fourth time, becoming only the fourth Cyclone to pull off the feat. However, if there has been one rough spot on the Greenwood, Ind. native's diving resume; it has been the zone diving meet. After a strong runs her freshman and sophomore year at the meet, last season looked like the chance for Tran to break through and head to nationals. That was not the case as she collected a pair of 19th-place finishes on the springboard events before collecting a sixth on platform.
“I think two years ago she had a good zone meet, she was posting solid scores along with what she was doing the rest of the season, but wasn't good enough to make the NCAA Championships,” Warrick said. “Tien's diving is at a different level now. She has to keep doing what she has been doing. She doesn't have to do anything spectacular; if she dives along her averages she has a good chance to make it. If she goes above that, it can only help her chances.”
Christensen will be making her first appearance at the Zone Diving Championships. The Plymouth, Minn. native earned her invite to the meet with her 283.88 score at Nebraska in January.
“The Big 12's was not her best meet, but we want her to be near her high point,” Warrick said. “It is hard to get a personal best at a zone diving meet, but I want her to be in the 260's on both 1-meter and 3-meter. On platform, Abby wants to break 200 on platform, which would be her personal best. I want her to have a good overall meet and leave with her head held high.”
Despite the record number of qualifiers that will be coming out of the zone, the field has plenty of competitors to navigate. Joining the duo of Cyclones are 17 other divers from the Big 12 as well as divers from Arkansas, Houston, Iowa, Louisiana State, Minnesota, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Southern Methodist, Saint Louis, Texas Christian, Wisconsin, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
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