MIAMI (March 6, 2021) – After winning a seventh-consecutive Conference USA Championship last weekend, the FIU diving team is shifting its focus to Greensboro, North Carolina, as the Panthers compete in the 2021 NCAA Zone B Diving Championships beginning on Sunday, March 7.

A live stream of NCAA Zone B events will be available via the Greensboro Aquatic Center's Facebook page. Live stats will be broadcasted on Divemeets.com. 
 
The three-day event will take place at the Greensboro Aquatic Center and run until Tuesday, March 9. The Panther trio of Maha Gouda, Mandy Song, and Rachel Food will all compete in the 3-meter and 1-meter dives, while Gouda and Foord will also compete in the platform. Divers will look to qualify for the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships in late March.

Junior Gouda is coming off another stellar season in which she swept gold in all three events at the C-USA Championships and won Diver of the Meet for the second time in three seasons. At the FGCU Invitational back in November, Gouda posted a score of 354.80 in the 3-meter and 345.20 in the 1-meter to qualify for zones. The Egyptian native is the reigning champion in the platform after winning the event at 2020 zones, earning her an automatic qualification for 2021.

Song broke two FIU records at the FGCU Invitational, posting scores of 378.65 in the 3-meter dive and 374.25 in the 1-meter. The sophomore took silver in both events recently at the league championship, and is now looking to defend her title in the 1-meter at NCAA Zones after winning the event in 2020. 

Foord posted a score of 349.25 in the 1-meter and 321.25 in the 3-meter to qualify for zones at the FGCU Invitational. The senior from Australia qualified for zones in the platform later in the season at the South Florida Diving Invitational, after posting a score of 283.20 in the event to take first place in the meet.

The 1-meter event will take place on Sunday, the 3-meter on Monday, and the platform on Tuesday. Prelims will get underway beginning at 10:30 a.m. each day, with finals beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday and Monday, and 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday.  The top 18 finishers from the preliminary round will advance to the final round of each event. Preliminary scores will be added to the scores in the finals to determine overall placement.

The top seven finishers in the 1-meter dive, seven in the 3-meter, and eight in the platform will automatically advance to the NCAA Championships on March 17-20. The NCAA will release the full list of divers selected to compete at the National Championships once all five regional zone meets have concluded, no later than Sunday, March 14.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Sunday, March 7
1-meter Prelim – 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. ET
1-meter Final – 12:30-1:30 p.m. ET
 
Monday, March 8
3-meter Prelim – 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. ET
3-meter Final – 12:30-13:0 p.m. ET

Tuesday, March 9
Platform Prelim – 10:30-11:45 a.m. ET 
Platform Final – 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. ET

Number of Qualifying Spots for Zone B:
Women: 
1M - 7
3M - 7
Platform - 8

SOCIAL MEDIA 
Get all the latest information on the team by following on Twitter (@FIUSwimDive), Facebook @FIUSwimmingandDiving) and on Instagram (@FIUSwimDive). General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.