This past weekend, Amherst sent its two top divers to Middlebury to compete at the NCAA Region 3 Diving Championships.
Lindsey Ruderman ’21 and Jackie Palermo ’19 did the Mammoths proud by both posting impressive scores in competition against a talented group of divers from across the region.
The event serves as a qualifier for the DIII Swim and Diving Championships.
Athletes can qualify for the national event by posting qualifying scores at two seperate events throughout the season in either height, one or three meters.
Just one qualifying score at the regional meet, however, can qualify a diver for nationals.
In the three-meter diving event, Ruderman finished second overall with a score of 457.50, outscoring 23 competitors in a 25 person field and finishing less than one point away from claiming the title.
Palermo held her own, notching a score of 400.70 that was good enough for 11th overall in the event.
In the one-meter diving, Ruderman finished in the top five once again with a score of 421.35 that earned her fifth overall, while Palermo cracked the top 10 after receiving a mark of 394.25.
The sole remaining event on the Mammoths calendar is a late-March trip to Indianapolis to compete in the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships.
Ruderman will compete alongside Natalie Rumplet ’20, Livia Domenig ’19, Nina Fitzgerald ’21, Stephanie Moriarty ’18, Sarah McDonald ’20, Heather Grotzinger ’20, Geralyn Lam ’18 and Ingrid Shu ’20.
The quartet of swimmers will not only compete in individual events, but also the 400 yard medley relay event.