5 Things to Know: Badgers make NCAA qualifying push

Sunday, March 10

West Lafayette, IN

9 AM / 1 PM (CT)

Wisconsin Badgers

Boiler-Make-It Last Chance

Photo by: Big Ten Photo

5 Things to Know: Badgers make NCAA qualifying push

March 08, 2019 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Six Badgers set for NCAA Zones in Austin; Tysoe takes to West Lafayette

MADISON, Wis. – Members of the Wisconsin diving contingent, six in all, are set to compete at the NCAA Zone D Championships next Monday through Wednesday in Austin, Texas.

Meanwhile, junior swimmer Cameron Tysoe will look to notch NCAA qualifying marks at the Boiler-Make-It Last Chance event this Sunday in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Before the action begins, here are five things to know.

1. Super Six: After seven meets and five months of competition in the books, Wisconsin has its six NCAA Zone competitors set following a promising Big Ten championship outing.

"We had great a Big Tens all around," diving coach Anton Slobounov said, "and we're going to keep doing what we've done all season."

The six divers are: Alex Hafey, Hazel Hertting and Tereza Vithoulkas on the women's side, and Andrew Pearce, Kevin Pomeroy and Brayden Schachle for the men.

Pomeroy, who placed eighth in the platform event at the Big Ten men's championships, is poised for NCAA success given his end-of-season upswing.

"Kevin has always been steady for us," Slobounov said. "He knows how to handle himself in high-pressure situations and the results showed for him at Big Tens."

Another Badger who had a strong performance on the platform, Vithoulkas posted 283.15 points in the event at the Big Ten women's meet, good for 11th.

"Tereza's freshman year has been a learning experience, but she is catching on quickly," Slobounov said. "Big Tens was a very different experience for her, and we expected her to practice being great for it.

"I expect her to practice being great – just like Big Tens – at zones."

2. Meet Minutiae: Spanning three days, the NCAA zone diving meet is a qualifying event that includes men's and women's 1-meter, 3-meter and platform dives with invitational-style preliminary and final rounds. The results will set the fields for the upcoming NCAA championships.

On Monday, men's 1-meter and women's 3-meter prelims begin at 11 a.m., followed by finals at 5 p.m.

Tuesday's docket – also slated for 11 a.m. prelims and 5 p.m. finals – features men's 3-meter and women's 1-meter events.

The Badgers will polish the competition off on the platform Wednesday, at 10 a.m. for the men and 2 p.m. for the women.

3. Live Look: Results from the NCAA zone meet will be updated online via the schedule page on UWBadgers.com. Live scores can also be found on DiveMeets.com.

For additional coverage of the meet, be sure to follow the Badgers on Twitter (@BadgerSwimDive) and Instagram (BadgerSwimDive).

4. Cam-I-Am: Here, there or anywhere – Cameron Tysoe's in-pool pedigree is indisputable.

A Big Ten Swimmer of the Week honoree the week of Oct. 17, Tysoe made a splash at the Big Ten men's championships with multiple appearances on the podium, including a silver medal in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1 minute, 41.29 seconds, the second-fastest mark in UW program history.

Now, Tysoe will look to punch his ticket to the NCAA championships by competing in the Boiler-Make-It Last Chance meet on Purdue's campus this Sunday.

The meet begins with prelims at 9 a.m. (CT), proceeded by 1 p.m. finals.

Live results from the meet can be accessed on the Meet Mobile app and via the men's swimming and diving schedule page on UWBadgers.com.

5. Fast Forward: The NCAA women's championships run March 20-23, followed by the men's NCAAs from March 27-30. Both meets will be held in Austin, Texas.

UW's individual qualifiers for the NCAA women's meet are senior Kathleen Coughlin (100 backstroke), freshman Lillie Hosack (200 freestyle, 200 IM) and junior Beata Nelson (100 back, 200 back, 200 IM).

With the Badgers also qualified in all five relay events, that trio will be joined by seniors Emmy Sehmann and Jess Unicomb, junior Megan Doty and sophomore Kelsi Artim.