UCLA junior All-American diver Marisa Samaniego blew away the competition in the NCAA Zone E 3-meter championships on Friday, winning the event by nearly 30 points to automatically advance to the NCAA Championships this week in Columbus, Ohio.
The win came after Samaniego slipped off the board in the 1-meter event held just a day prior and was forced to pull out of the event with a rolled ankle and a bruised shoulder.
Samaniego found herself in second place in the 3-meter after posting a score of 304.00 in the preliminary round but vaulted herself up to first with a final-round score of 328.15. Her end tally of 632.15 is a lifetime best.
With the win, Samaniego becomes the fourth Bruin to qualify for NCAAs on March 20. She joins swimmers Nicolette Teo, Anna Poteete and Lauren Hall who qualified with NCAA A-times earlier in the year.