H2Okies qualify six divers for NCAA Championships

Four men and two women will represent Tech at the national meet

March 8, 2017

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. - The H₂Okies’ men’s divers dominated the finals of the platform event on the final day of the NCAA Zone A Diving Championship held at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center on Wednesday.

Thomas Shinholser punched his ticket to NCAAs by winning the platform event with a final score 735.20. Junior Mauro Castro-Silva’s score of 689.45 put him in second while Eduardo Castro-Silva scored a 634.60 to place fifth.

“I was really proud of everyone’s performances all week,” head diving coach Ron Piemonte. “It served as great experience for our younger divers and those that qualified for the national meet. I’m looking forward to see what this group can do later this month.”

In the women’s final, redshirt junior Ashley Buchter turned in a final score of 454.70, the third highest, that qualified her for nationals. Sophomore Ashlynn Peters placed sixth with a score of 417.65.

In total, the Virginia Tech diving program will six divers to NCAAs in Indianapolis from March 22-25. The Castro-Silva brothers, Mauro and Eduardo, Shinholser and sophomore Ben Schiesl will represent the men while Peters and Buchter will represent the women.

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