University of Florida sophomore Jonathan Wilcox (Bellevue, Wash.) wrapped up the 2007 NCAA Zone B Diving Championships with a ninth-place finish in the platform dive. His final-round 336.75, which narrowly missed his career six-dive best on tower, combined with his tally of 277.60 in prelims to give Wilcox a total of 614.35 on the day.

“We’re obviously disappointed that Jonathan didn’t make the NCAA meet, but the effort was there,” Florida diving coach Donnie Craine said. “He battled today, and, even though he missed some dives this weekend, he put together a solid performance.”

Freshman Jennifer Funch (Cincinnati, Ohio) qualified for her first-career zone-meet final on Sunday, finishing 17th on the platform with a score of 415.65. Sophomore Whitney Stern (Safety Harbor, Fla.) took 24th with a total of 166.50, while junior Sarah Ellerby (Oldsmar, Fla.) placed 25th after scoring 161.35 points.

“Our women’s team will be better for having competed in this meet,” Craine said. “They got to see what it’s all about, and hopefully they will have a little more confidence now. There were some positive things that came out of this weekend.”

The UF women will be in action again from March 8-10 at the NCAA Championships, while the Gator men will hit the water at their national meet a week later. Both events will take place in Minneapolis. Visit www.ncaasports.com for results and ticket information.

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