Emma Whitner Earned Her Spot As An NCAA Zone qualifier.

The University of Florida Swimming and Diving team competed in a meet against Louisiana State University on October 12. During this meet, sophomore Emma Whitner earned her spot as an NCAA Zone qualifier. 

According to the NCAA website, to qualify for the Zone meet, a female diver must score 265 points on a 1-meter dive, 280 points on a 3-meter diver, or 225 points on a platform dive. During this meet against LSU, Emma scored 269.40 points on the 1-meter dive and 283.20 points on the 3-meter. These point totals earned her a spot at the NCAA zone meet in both dives.

The zone meet will take place in the beginning of March 2019 and is a qualifier meet for the NCAA Championship meet which will be held on March 20-23. In order to get to the NCAA Championships, a diver must place within the top 8 for the 1-meter dive and top 10 for the 3-meter.

Last year as a freshman, Emma qualified for the NCAA Diving Zones last in year in all three dives. She was able to finish 14^th in the platform event, 18^th in the 3-meter board, and 29^th in the 1-meter. Emma’s diving is only getting better this year as a sophomore. With her previous experience at the Diving Zones, she has her sights set on a goal of qualifying for NCAAs Championship meet.

Emma Whitner's Diving Story

Being a college athlete is no easy feat. Trying to maintain a good GPA and a social life while practicing 20+ hours a week and travelling on weekends is nearly impossible. However, Florida Gator Emma Whitner has single handedly mastered this task. Emma is a diver for the University of Florida, maintains a 3.87 GPA, made the Dean’s List last year, and still makes time for her friends.

Emma grew up in Jacksonville, Florida and started out her athletic career as a swimmer but wasn’t too fond of the sport. After trying several other activities, she decided that she wanted to try out diving at nine years old. Emma dove for a club team for five years until she reached 8^th grade and the thought of diving in college entered her mind. In 9^th grade, Emma knew she needed to start training with the best of the best if she wanted to be recruited. Her passion for diving led her to move to Orlando to start diving for the YMCA of Central Florida where she knew she could become an even better diver. 

Emma Whitner- A Floridan Athlete's Story

During her time in high school, Emma was a five-time 1A state finalist on the 1-meter, a four-time USA Diving Junior National Championship semi-finalist, and was a co-captain of the YCF Diving Team during her junior and senior years. Emma then committed to dive for the University of Florida during the end of her junior year.

The head coach of Florida Swimming & Diving who recruited and signed Emma was Dale Scholtz, who coached Emma’s father during his time as a swimmer at the University of Florida. Scholtz left to coach at the University of Arkansas the summer before Emma’s freshman year and he was replaced by Bryan Gillooly, who used to coach Emma when she was in high school.

“It’s funny how small the swimming & diving world really is. The sense of community and friendship in this sport is really what made me love it in the first place,” says Emma.

 
Emma’s dedication and hard work have not only led her to becoming a Division I college athlete, but has also made her driven and successful in all aspects of her life. Emma recommends that if anyone has a child who is wanting to get into sports, to consider joining a swimming or diving team. Emma says she wouldn’t be the person she is today if it hadn’t been for her diving career. 


The story was originally written by Carolyn Carter -:) I am very thankful to her!