GREENSBORO, N.C. –– Navy's Meghan Gerdes (Sr., Spring, Texas) placed fourth in the three-meter competition at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championship on Friday to qualify for the NCAA Championship for the third time in her career.  The zone meet is being contested this week at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.
 
The top-six divers in today's women's event qualified for the upcoming NCAA Championship.  Gerdes accrued 565.45 points in her 12 dives to finish in fourth place.
 
Teammate Hannah Montau (Jr., Germantown, Md.) missed qualifying for the NCAA Championship in Thursday's one-meter event by one position and less than two points.  Today, she placed seventh in the three-meter event with a score of 550.50 to again finish one spot out of qualifying.  Virginia's Charlotte Bowen scored 561.70 points to claim the sixth and final qualifying berth Friday by 11.20 points over Montau.
 
The men competed in platform diving today, with the top-four finishers in the event automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championship.  Navy's Jake Hedrick (Sr., Hummelstown, Pa.) totaled 606.30 points to finish second in the competition and qualify for the NCAA Championship in a second event.  Both Hedrick and Patrick Carter (Sr., West Islip, N.Y.) qualified for the NCAA Championship in the three-meter event on Thursday.  Carter totaled 501.35 points to place sixth in today's platform event.
 
Because Carter qualified for the NCAA Championship on Thursday, he will be able to compete in the platform event at the national championship thanks to his finishing among the top-12 divers Friday.
 
Greensboro will play host to the women's (March 17-20) and men's (March 24-27) NCAA Championship meets.
 
The Zone A Championship will conclude Saturday with women's platform diving and the men's one-meter event.