ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– Navy's Bradley Buchter (Sr., Hickory, N.C.) and Hannah Montau (So., Germantown, Md.) earned their way back into the NCAA Diving Championships with their respective performances at the zone meet Monday in Morgantown, W.Va.  

Buchter recorded a first-place showing on the three-meter springboard event today to qualify for the fourth NCAA Championship of his career.  His winning score of 772.95 points was 35 points ahead of the rest of the field.  The top-five divers in the event qualified for the national meet.

Buchter joins Bill McCormick '86 and Nate Smith '96 as the only Navy men's divers to qualify for the NCAA Championship four times.  He became the first Mid to earn Honorable Mention All-America honors since Smith in 1996 when he placed 13th in the one-meter competition at last year's national meet.

Montau scored 535.00 points to place fifth in the one-meter competition.  Like Monday's men's three-meter event, the top-five divers in today's women's event advanced to the NCAA Championship.  Montau competed in both springboard events and in platform diving at the 2019 national championship.

The women's NCAA Championship will be held March 19-21 in Athens, Ga., and the men's national championship will be held March 26-28 in Indianapolis, Ind.

Fellow Navy diver Jake Hedrick (Jr., Hummelstown, Pa.) didn't miss qualifying for the NCAA Championship by much on Monday as he placed ninth in the field with a score of 668.10.  The fifth-place qualifying score was 20 points higher than Hedrick's 12-dive total.

Additionally in competition for Navy on Monday were Caroline Turner (So., Phoenixville, Pa.), who placed 38th with a score of 226.85, and Lance Christopher (Fr., Lambertville, N.J.), who finished in 42nd place with a six-dive total of 219.35.

The NCAA Zone A Diving Championship will continue Tuesday (men's one meter, women's three meter) and Wednesday (men's and women's platform).