Chicago, Ill.– University of Southern Indiana Men’s and Women’s Diving shattered three school records and recorded six personal bests at the University of Illinois-Chicago on Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale.
The day was highlighted by freshman Anna Bunnell becoming the first ever Screaming Eagle to achieve a NCAA Zone Cut score with another monstrous one-meter performance (266.30 pts).
USI Men
Junior leader Lane Pollock finally surpassed his previous one-meter school record from the beginning of the season against Valparaiso University of 273.38 pts. The Boonville native improved his own record by 14 points on Saturday as it all came together (287.50 pts). The junior is only 12.5 points shy of the one-meter zone cut.
Sophomore Nathan Deputy followed behind in the one-meter event (258.90 pts). Freshman Lucas Herbst also recorded a personal best in the event (221.65 pts).
Moving over the three-meter event, Deputy had another respectable performance (279.05 pts), placing fourth among the field. Pollock trailed behind Deputy in sixth (242.85 pts).
USI Women
The women are clearly geared up for Summit League Championships, recording two school records and four personal best performances. Bunnell’s one-meter performance surpasses the NCAA qualifying score of 265, making her the first Eagle to accomplish this feat. Despite qualifying, Bunnell will not be able to compete in the NCAA Championships due to USI’s current transition process. However, the Evansville native is only a freshman and will be a force for many years to come for the Eagles.
The freshman’s one-meter school record was a huge 26-point improvement from her previous record, placing second in the event among stiff competition. Bunnell followed up the performance with another big improvement of 12 points in the three-meter, shattering the school record (253 pts).
Freshman Gabbie Meier and Maranda Uttke also made monumental jumps today, recording personal best scores. Meier improved her personal best three-meter score by 14 points, finishing right behind Bunnell (246 pts). Uttke showed us last meet, her best performances were coming at the end of the season with a season best three-meter score (217.43 pts) against EIU. The sophomore took her game to the next level with a personal best three-meter score on Saturday (239.25 pts).
Up Next
USI will continue to train with next weekend off competition for the season culmination of the Summit League Championships on February 19-22. All seven conference foes meet this year in Iowa City on University of Iowa’s campus at the campus recreation and wellness center. Be sure to check out all the available Summit League Championship information at the conference’s website along with the links on both swimming and diving schedules.
