MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Action at the 2018 NCAA Division III Northeast/North Diving Championships got underway on Friday afternoon with Mount Holyoke College student-athlete Samantha Nemivant among the 25 divers competing on the 3-meter board for a chance to go the NCAA National Championships. The event, which is being hosted by Middlebury College, saw six of the current top-10 divers come from the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC).
A sophomore who hails from Scottsdale, Ariz., Nemivant posted an 11-round score of 427.90 points, which puts her sixth overall in the field on the 3-meter. MIT's Deborah Wen won the event with a total score of 458.25 points. She was followed by Amherst's Lindsay Ruderman (457.50), NYU's Carmen White (452.45), Wellesley's Maura Sticco-Ivins (448.00) and MIT's Blake Zhou (434.75) to round out the top five.
The former Notre Dame Prep standout is coming off a 2017-18 season in which she recorded nine first-place finishes combined off both boards. Additionally, she finished no less than third during the regular season of either board over nine meets. At the NEWMAC Championship, Nemivant was ninth off the 3-meter (441.35), taking seventh in the 1-meter (432.00) the following day. For the season, she recorded seven NCAA Qualifying marks, including four off the 1-meter.
Highlighting Nemivant's season thus far was a sweep of the boards against Westfield State, in which she recorded an NCAA qualifying mark of 257.50 to win the 1-meter, followed by a first-place score of 250.35 on the 3-meter. Nemivant also broke her own school record in the 3-meter event this season, posting 476.20 points to finish third at the 2018 Seven Sisters Championships.
Action at the Diving Regionals continues on Saturday at 12pm with the 1-meter event as the region's best look to claim their spot at the NCAA National Championships. The qualifiers to the national championships will be assigned by alternating between the highest finisher on day one and the highest finisher on day two, considering that divers already invited will be skipped. This assures equal consideration is given to both boards.
Fans who cannot make it to Middlebury can watch live at https://www.nsnsports.net/colleges/middlebury/ and find the regionals broadcast below in the event schedule. There is no charge to watch.
