Completed Event: Swimming and Diving versus Big 12 Duals on January 16, 2026 , , 5th, 781 points
Final
Swimming and Diving
Big 12 Duals
5th, 781 points
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Iowa State University Athletics
Two Cyclones Head to Zone Diving Championships
03.06.2012 | Swimming and Diving
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State divers Jessica Henderson and Sarah Nelson travel to Iowa City this week to take part in the NCAA Zone 'D' Diving Championships. Competition begins on Thursday with 1-meter prelims starting at 11 a.m. CST and finals immediately following. Friday will feature 3-meter diving beginning at 4:30 p.m. and the competition will conclude Saturday with platform diving starting at 11 a.m.
Nelson is coming off of a strong set of performances at the Big 12 Championships. The senior earned trips to the eight-diver finals on 3-meter and platform, earning eighth-place finishes on both boards along with a solid ninth-place showing on 1-meter. Diving coach Jeff Warrick believes that Nelson's work on becoming more consistent allowed her to have such a strong showing and will assist her again this week.
“We talked about it and keep talking about being consistent, it is a matter of it all coming together,” Warrick said. “If you are trying to make technical changes and keep the repetitions up, it should pay off.”
Henderson got into the scoring column for the Cyclones at the conference championships on all three boards, earning 12th-place on platform and 14th on 1-meter and 3-meter. The redshirt sophomore has been trying to fight off some physical woes in the time leading up to the zone meet, and Warrick believes that having Henderson close to full strength will allow for her to be more into the meet.
“Jessica has some different physical issues going on right now,” Warrick noted. “If we can have her feeling well physically going into the meet, she is going to do a lot better. If she is feeling better, she will be more mentally into the game and will attack her dives more. That is what she needs to do, be aggressive and don't hold back.”
The University of Iowa is hosting the Zone Diving Championships for the first time in the two-year old Wellness and Recreation Center. While making the trip to Eastern Iowa will be a new experience for many of the schools in the region, the Cyclones will not be one of them.
“It is an advantage for us,” Warrick noted. “Both divers got to dive there last year during the Iowa dual meet and the USA Diving Preliminaries. That is an advantage to know the pool and the environment. You don't have to take as much time becoming familiar with the environment.”
The NCAA Zone Diving Championships is scored on a 12-dive format, with all six dives from the prelim round counting toward the final score for the event. The pressure will be on for the divers throughout the entire event.
"The scoring is definitely a factor,” Warrick said. “All your dives count. From dive one you might as well consider yourself in the finals. You have to make each one count, because the competition level is very high and very deep.”
Zone D is once again the nation's premier diving region. For the second time in three seasons, Zone D will take an NCAA-record 12 divers to the NCAA Championships next week. Along with competing against divers from host Iowa and the rest of the Big 12, the Cyclones will compete against student-athletes from Arkansas, Houston, LSU, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Texas, Northern Iowa, SMU and Wisconsin.
“It is exciting to have that level of competition,” Warrick said. “When you have that level of competition, hopefully it raises your level of competition. It makes for an exciting event. I think my divers are ready for that and they know they can compete at that level. They have to believe in themselves and have a lot of fun.”
An example of the strength of Zone D can be shown in Nelson's 1-meter effort at last season's event. Nelson posted the second-best 12-dive 1-meter score ever by an Iowa State diver at the Zone Diving Championships at 488.35. However, that score only earned 17th-place, which ranked as the 13th-best placing by a Cyclone diver on 1-meter in program history.
With prelim scores counting toward a diver's final score consistency is key to succeeding at the Zone Diving Championships. If Henderson and Nelson can do that, they will have the opportunity to continue their seasons at the NCAA Championships next week at Auburn, Ala.
Nelson is coming off of a strong set of performances at the Big 12 Championships. The senior earned trips to the eight-diver finals on 3-meter and platform, earning eighth-place finishes on both boards along with a solid ninth-place showing on 1-meter. Diving coach Jeff Warrick believes that Nelson's work on becoming more consistent allowed her to have such a strong showing and will assist her again this week.
“We talked about it and keep talking about being consistent, it is a matter of it all coming together,” Warrick said. “If you are trying to make technical changes and keep the repetitions up, it should pay off.”
Henderson got into the scoring column for the Cyclones at the conference championships on all three boards, earning 12th-place on platform and 14th on 1-meter and 3-meter. The redshirt sophomore has been trying to fight off some physical woes in the time leading up to the zone meet, and Warrick believes that having Henderson close to full strength will allow for her to be more into the meet.
“Jessica has some different physical issues going on right now,” Warrick noted. “If we can have her feeling well physically going into the meet, she is going to do a lot better. If she is feeling better, she will be more mentally into the game and will attack her dives more. That is what she needs to do, be aggressive and don't hold back.”
The University of Iowa is hosting the Zone Diving Championships for the first time in the two-year old Wellness and Recreation Center. While making the trip to Eastern Iowa will be a new experience for many of the schools in the region, the Cyclones will not be one of them.
“It is an advantage for us,” Warrick noted. “Both divers got to dive there last year during the Iowa dual meet and the USA Diving Preliminaries. That is an advantage to know the pool and the environment. You don't have to take as much time becoming familiar with the environment.”
The NCAA Zone Diving Championships is scored on a 12-dive format, with all six dives from the prelim round counting toward the final score for the event. The pressure will be on for the divers throughout the entire event.
"The scoring is definitely a factor,” Warrick said. “All your dives count. From dive one you might as well consider yourself in the finals. You have to make each one count, because the competition level is very high and very deep.”
Zone D is once again the nation's premier diving region. For the second time in three seasons, Zone D will take an NCAA-record 12 divers to the NCAA Championships next week. Along with competing against divers from host Iowa and the rest of the Big 12, the Cyclones will compete against student-athletes from Arkansas, Houston, LSU, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Texas, Northern Iowa, SMU and Wisconsin.
“It is exciting to have that level of competition,” Warrick said. “When you have that level of competition, hopefully it raises your level of competition. It makes for an exciting event. I think my divers are ready for that and they know they can compete at that level. They have to believe in themselves and have a lot of fun.”
An example of the strength of Zone D can be shown in Nelson's 1-meter effort at last season's event. Nelson posted the second-best 12-dive 1-meter score ever by an Iowa State diver at the Zone Diving Championships at 488.35. However, that score only earned 17th-place, which ranked as the 13th-best placing by a Cyclone diver on 1-meter in program history.
With prelim scores counting toward a diver's final score consistency is key to succeeding at the Zone Diving Championships. If Henderson and Nelson can do that, they will have the opportunity to continue their seasons at the NCAA Championships next week at Auburn, Ala.
Players Mentioned
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