Rutgers Diving Ranked No. 6 in National Diving Rankings
Oct 10 | Women's Swimming & Diving
RU Diving is 6th Nationally, 3rd in Big Ten by US PDCA
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Ahead of the upcoming season, Rutgers diving received recognition as one of the top diving programs in Division I. The Scarlet Knight divers were ranked as the No. 6 women's diving team in the inaugural PDCA "Top 25", a brand-new ranking dedicated to celebrating and recognizing the best in NCAA diving. Rutgers is the third highest ranked diving program in the conference per those rankings.
Speaking with Dom Savino in a Preseason Preview Podcast, Rutgers head coach Jon Maccoll expressed that he felt that Rutgers had one of the top 10 diving programs in the country. That position was validated with RU's placement in this coaches poll.
"That's a testament to (Rutgers diving coach) Natasha Chikina and all the hard work the divers are doing," Maccoll said. "That's pretty amazing to think about, because we are also so young, we should be a top-10 program for a while, which is amazing for myself and the program. We probably have four of the top-100 divers in the world and that's really exciting. We are better positioned to do well that we ever have before. The diving program is healthy and strong and we want to continue to support that, and we are receiving a great return on our investment."
Sophomore diver Bailee Sturgill enters the season on the Big Ten's Preseason Watch List. The diver from Noblesville, Ind. Was named Big Ten All-Freshman and was an NCAA Qualifier on the 1M, 3M and Platform. Sturgill was crowned the NCAA Zone A platform champion and at the Big Ten Championships, she led the Scarlet Knights in qualifying for finals on both 1M and platform. In mid-May at the USA Diving Championships, Sturgill won gold as co-champion on women's synchronized 3M and teamed up with classmate Katerina Hoffman to take bronze on women's synchronized platform. She was also a finalist on senior women's 3M, placing fifth.
Sophomore diver Katerina Hoffman also excelled in her debut season as a freshman, earning marks on Rutgers' Top Ten in the 3M (third), 1M (sixth) and platform (eighth). An NCAA qualifier on all three boards, she was the NCAA Zone A champion on 3M and a Big Ten Consolation finalist on 3M and 1M.
Sephora Ford was named the program's Diver of the Year last season. She became the sixth Scarlet Knight diver and fourth in the last five seasons to be named an All-American after earning second team honors on platform at the NCAA Championship. Ford qualified for the consolation finals, finishing seventh in the round and 15th overall in the event with a score of 270.00. The Sheffield, England native was runner-up on platform and third on 3M at NCAA Zones.
Sophomore Madilyn Varnum was a USA National Diving Championships qualifier on 1M and 3M. Junior Amelia Scott places seventh on Rutgers' Top Ten in the 3M and was a NCAA Zone A finalist in 2023-24. Freshman Giana Lawrence, a Flemington, N.J. native who was a Four-time NISCA Diving All-American, rounds out the diving roster.
The PDCA Top 25 was created and is designed to provide a comprehensive and accurate measure of excellence for both individual divers and diving programs across the nation. The rankings recognize consistency, execution, and competitive dominance, rewarding sustained excellence throughout the season over singular high scores.
The Scarlet Knight divers are in action for the season opener this weekend. The program's season opening meet is Saturday at 1 p.m. as RU hosts St. Bonaventure and Fordham.
Speaking with Dom Savino in a Preseason Preview Podcast, Rutgers head coach Jon Maccoll expressed that he felt that Rutgers had one of the top 10 diving programs in the country. That position was validated with RU's placement in this coaches poll.
"That's a testament to (Rutgers diving coach) Natasha Chikina and all the hard work the divers are doing," Maccoll said. "That's pretty amazing to think about, because we are also so young, we should be a top-10 program for a while, which is amazing for myself and the program. We probably have four of the top-100 divers in the world and that's really exciting. We are better positioned to do well that we ever have before. The diving program is healthy and strong and we want to continue to support that, and we are receiving a great return on our investment."
Sophomore diver Bailee Sturgill enters the season on the Big Ten's Preseason Watch List. The diver from Noblesville, Ind. Was named Big Ten All-Freshman and was an NCAA Qualifier on the 1M, 3M and Platform. Sturgill was crowned the NCAA Zone A platform champion and at the Big Ten Championships, she led the Scarlet Knights in qualifying for finals on both 1M and platform. In mid-May at the USA Diving Championships, Sturgill won gold as co-champion on women's synchronized 3M and teamed up with classmate Katerina Hoffman to take bronze on women's synchronized platform. She was also a finalist on senior women's 3M, placing fifth.
Sophomore diver Katerina Hoffman also excelled in her debut season as a freshman, earning marks on Rutgers' Top Ten in the 3M (third), 1M (sixth) and platform (eighth). An NCAA qualifier on all three boards, she was the NCAA Zone A champion on 3M and a Big Ten Consolation finalist on 3M and 1M.
Sephora Ford was named the program's Diver of the Year last season. She became the sixth Scarlet Knight diver and fourth in the last five seasons to be named an All-American after earning second team honors on platform at the NCAA Championship. Ford qualified for the consolation finals, finishing seventh in the round and 15th overall in the event with a score of 270.00. The Sheffield, England native was runner-up on platform and third on 3M at NCAA Zones.
Sophomore Madilyn Varnum was a USA National Diving Championships qualifier on 1M and 3M. Junior Amelia Scott places seventh on Rutgers' Top Ten in the 3M and was a NCAA Zone A finalist in 2023-24. Freshman Giana Lawrence, a Flemington, N.J. native who was a Four-time NISCA Diving All-American, rounds out the diving roster.
The PDCA Top 25 was created and is designed to provide a comprehensive and accurate measure of excellence for both individual divers and diving programs across the nation. The rankings recognize consistency, execution, and competitive dominance, rewarding sustained excellence throughout the season over singular high scores.
The Scarlet Knight divers are in action for the season opener this weekend. The program's season opening meet is Saturday at 1 p.m. as RU hosts St. Bonaventure and Fordham.
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Diving
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Diving
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