HOUSTON, Texas-- University of North Dakota junior diver Richard Eberle finished 27th in the 1-meter springboard at the NCAA Zone D meet Monday. Eberle, along with Rachael Waldbillig on the women's side, are making the school's first appearance in the NCAAs at the Division I level.
"Overall a pretty good showing," UND diving coach Brian Strom said. "It's nice to get that first one out of the way. His best board is tomorrow (3-meter). He missed one there in the third round and had a great dive in the next round but everybody here is so good. As soon as you miss one you get buried pretty quickly."
Eberle scored 228.60 in the preliminary rounds. The top 18 divers advanced to the final rounds where Missouri's David Bonucki took the title, easily outdistancing the field with a 787.10 score through finals.
NCAA Zone D includes 12 Midwest states including: Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. There are five zones and an allocated number of divers-- based on last year's performance of each particular zone-- will advance to the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, Ind. later this month.
Waldbillig will compete in the one-meter event later in the afternoon Monday.
