Despite strong showings by the Iowa State men’s and women’s diving squads on March 14, the teams failed to qualify anyone for this year’s NCAA Championships.

Diving Coach Jerry Symons said he was pleased by the performances of both his men and women at the Zone D Diving Championships in Austin, Texas. The four divers who qualified for ISU all are underclassmen, which he said makes their efforts even more impressive.

“They did an outstanding job,” Symons said. “They learned what they had to do.”

Sophomore Steve Mohabir finished ninth in the three-meter springboard competition by recording a career-best mark of 412.35. His score easily topped his previous high mark of 384.1.

On the one-meter, Mohabir finished 13th with a 362, while freshman Jim Zagaria grabbed 16th with a total of 323.2.

“I had a good meet,” Mohabir said. “It was just a good learning experience.

Mohabir said the competition was tough, but he performed well.

“I beat a lot of guys I hadn’t beaten all year,” he said.

Zagaria, one of few rookies who qualified for the meet, finished 15th in the three-meter with a score of 349.35.

After accomplishing his preseason goal of qualifying for the zone meet, Zagaria said he set his sights on placing in the top 10, but had no idea what the meet would be like.

“I didn’t have any expectations,” he said. “I just tried to go and have fun.”

Zagaria said he felt the end of the season was somewhat of a “letdown” for him, but that it will prove beneficial in his next three years.

“I’m trying to take it as a learning experience and take a positive look at it,” he said. “I learned there are a lot of things I need to work on, but I also gained a lot of experience.”

The strong performances from the men was to be expected, after they played key roles in helping the ISU swimming team complete an undefeated season.

Symons said the men shined in the key meets throughout the year.

“The two men divers had a great season. They couldn’t have had a much better dual meet season,” he said.

Juniors Erin Cowan and Aleisha Kraft competed in the women’s events.

Kraft finished 22nd in both competitions. Cowan scored a 311.15 to place 17th in the one-meter and took 21st in the three-meter.

She said her goal was to place in the top 18 in both events.

“I was happy with how I did,” Cowan said. “I was close.”

Symons said the zone was loaded with talent, especially on the women’s side, with three of the nation’s top five divers in the ISU division.

Cowan agreed with her coach’s assessment of the competition. “The competition was incredible. I think it was the toughest zone,” she said.

Symons said the experience that the women received this year will lead to a bigger and better 1998-99 season.

“They learned what they had to do,” he said. “It’s an exciting time. I think everybody will move up quite a bit [next season].”