Freece Starts Off Strong on 1-Meter at Zones

Liberty’s successful diving season continued today, as sophomore Maddie Freece placed 25th on one-meter springboard at the NCAA Division I Women’s Diving Zone A Championships, Monday at Lejeune Hall in Annapolis, Md.

Freece is competing to earn a spot in the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, which will be held in Atlanta, Ga., March 16-19.

Liberty’s Top Performer

• So. Maddie Freece – One-meter diving (6) – 248.50 (25th place in prelims)

Notable

• During this week’s three-day meet, the top 18 from prelims each day qualify for evening finals. The top five combined scored from prelims and finals in one-meter diving qualify for the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships.

• Freece’s 248.50 score was her best one-meter prelim score at NCAA Zone Championships. Last year, Freece scored 239.45 in one-meter diving prelims to earn a spot in the finals alongside teammate Lauren Chennault. Freece finished 14th overall at last year’s Zone Championships in one-meter diving with a 12-dive score of 482.95.

• This year, it took 256.05 points to qualify for the Zone A Diving final on one-meter springboard. Last year’s one-meter Zone champion, Teagan Moravek, posted the top qualifying score at 302.85 today.

• Today’s event featured 79 divers, after last year’s one-meter Zone A field consisted of just 31 divers. The divers represent schools from Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, Maryland, Delaware and District of Columbia.

Historically Speaking

• Prior to today, the best one-meter qualifying-round score at NCAA Zone Championships was 240.95, by Lauren Chennault in 2021.

• This is the fourth straight NCAA postseason appearance for Liberty’s divers. Freece is attempting to become the first Liberty diver to compete in the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships.

• Navy’s Lejeune Hall, the host for this week’s NCAA Zone A Diving Championships, hosted Zones in 2019, the year that Liberty made its first-ever NCAA postseason appearance. The 2020 Zone Championships were held in Morgantown, W.Va., while last year saw Maddie Freece and Lauren Chennault compete in Greensboro, N.C.

Up Next

Freece finishes up her time at NCAA Zone Championships tomorrow. The preliminary round for three-meter diving begins at noon, with the top 18 scores advancing to finals.