The Iowa State diving team traveled to Austin, Texas to take part in the competition NCAA Zone D Diving Championships March 11 to 13, and senior Abby Christensen and juniors Sarah Nelson, Jenn Botsch and Lauren Naeve took part.

“I think they gave great effort,” said diving coach Jeff Warrick. “I was happy to see how they approached their dives from a mental standpoint.”

Nelson, Botsch and Naeve will benefit from their first zone meet.

“They gained some great experience and it’s going to help them next year,” Warrick said.

Christensen, Nelson and Botsch competed in the 3-meter dive on Friday.

Botsch led the Cyclones with a 28th place finish scoring a 246.65.

“Her last two dives kind of hurt her,” Warrick said. “I know she can do better but she did give great effort. She placed pretty high in ISU history.”

Nelson led the way on day two in the 1-meter. Nelson recorded a 12-dive score of 488.35 earning her 17th overall.

“We were definitely excited,” Warrick said. “For her to make the finals her first time here was a big deal.”

Naeve competed for the first time in three months. With just a couple of weeks of practice under her belt, the junior scored a 211.05 on the one-meter putting her in 38th place overall.

“She has things to work on but I can’t complain because it was exciting to have her back,” Warrick said.

On the third and final day the Cyclones competed on the platform dive. It also marked the end of Christensen’s Iowa State diving career. Christensen finished 20th overall with a score of 187.35. Nelson placed 16th for the Cyclones on platform with a score of 213.60.

“They all had very solid performances,” Warrick said. “They all gave good effort, stayed determined and had a very strong finish to the weekend.”