FEDERAL WAY, Wash. (March 11, 2020) – After a third place finish on the platform, freshman Melissa Mirafuentes garnered an NCAA Qualification on Wednesday to close out the NCAA Zone E Championships. It's the first time during her career she has qualified for the event.
 
Mirafuentes would finish third in the preliminaries with a score of 284.10 to move on to the final round of 18. In the second session, she recorded a finals score of 275.70 for a combined total score of 559.80 to remain in third. For the women, the top nine earn an NCAA championship bid, while the top six on the men's side advance.
 
Redshirt junior Karla Contreras missed the top 18 by 1.65 points with a final combined score of 215.20 after six dives. Sophomore McKenna Houlihan had a final score of 151.75 in the prelims
 
Sophomore Brendan Byrnes turned in a preliminary score of 257.55 to place 15^th to advance to the top 18. In the finals, he posted a finals score of 238.35 for a total six dive score of 495.90.
 
Several individuals from the Cowboy and Cowgirl swimming teams will begin competition tomorrow at the CSCAA National Invitational in Cleveland, Ohio. Prelims are set to begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Busbey Natatorium.  The 2020 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships will begin next Thursday, March 19, in Athens, Ga.