This weekend, the South Siders will compete in the NCAA Regional Diving Championship, where they hope their performances will be strong enough to qualify them for nationals.
The Maroons will also serve as hosts for the two-day meet, which will begin on Friday and continue through Saturday in the Myers-McLoraine Pool.
Chicago’s team consists of fourth-years Anthony Restaino, Matthew Staab, and Kevin Steffes, along with first-year Dean Boures, who will compete among a field of 59 divers from around the central region. The top-scoring competitors will qualify for the NCAA Championships.
The Maroon divers had a very strong showing at the UAA Championships held in Atlanta, GA two weeks ago. On the first day of the four-day meet, the men gave the Maroons a strong start, with Staab, Restaino, Boures, and Steffes all finishing in the top six in the one-meter preliminaries. Staab and Restaino then took first and second in the finals, respectively, to earn all-UAA honors. Boures finished fifth, and Steffes was sixth. In the three-meter at UAAs, Restaino and Staab took second and third in the finals, respectively. In the preliminaries, Staab broke the school and UAA record.
Qualifying for nationals is different for diving than it is for swimming. This is the second year with this new format where the divers now have one high-pressure meet to score well enough to qualify for Nationals. Unlike the case with swimming, the divers’ performances during the rest of the season do not count for getting to Nationals.
However, the strong showing by the divers throughout the regular season and at UAA Championships provides them with a confidence that will perform well this weekend. The Maroons also have the benefit of being at home during this high-pressure situation.
“I would say we feel very good going into this meet, especially because it’s at home,” first-year Dean Boures said. “We all know we’ve scored well enough to go to nationals throughout the year, so for us it’s just about putting together a nice consistent meet and just let everything else handle itself.”
Action will kick off on Friday at 4 p.m. with the women’s one-meter, followed by the men’s three-meter. On Saturday, competition will begin with the women’s three-meter at 12 p.m., followed by the men’s one-meter.
