The recently resurgent Alabama swimming and diving program will look to add to its national championship roster when five athletes compete at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships this week.

Seven swimmers from the women’s side have already been selected for the national championships, marking the biggest delegation since 2003 for the team. From Monday through Wednesday, four female divers will have the chance to take one of nine qualifying spots, while freshman Brent Sagert will be the lone Alabama male competing for one of seven positions.

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The group is led by senior Paige McCleary, who holds the school record for both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards. McCleary, who placed fourth on the 3-meter board at the Southeastern Conference Championships, said she hopes a strong performance from both herself and her team will herald a good finish at the national championships.

“I would like to be in the top four or five on both boards,” McCleary said. “That’ll put me in a good predicament to make NCAAs. If I’m in the top four or five, I know that’ll be good enough to hopefully score at NCAAs. Our zone is one of the harder ones, so being in the top four or five here will be good enough to score at NCAAs.”

This season has been one of re-emergence for Alabama, with Alabama coach Dennis Pursley placing a strong emphasis on team spirit in a sport that frequently accents the individual.

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“I think that, because there’s been such a culture change and an attitude change on the swimming end, that it has in turn affected us,” McCleary said. “We’re all one team, so we have to earn our spots as much as they do. To have to rise to meet the expectations has been great for us as well … Every point counts, every event counts, so no matter what you do, it’s going to impact the team somehow.”

Most of all, McCleary said she wants the divers to contribute to Alabama’s recent resurgence. Freshmen Taylor Zablocki, Sarah Musselman and Dakota Toner will compete alongside the senior.

“We would like to send everybody, obviously,” McCleary said. “To get two of our girls and our boy in would be above and beyond. We haven’t had anybody qualify for NCAAs in a couple of years for diving.”

At the end of her career, McCleary said she’s relishing the chance to compete.

“For me in particular, being a senior, my coaches just told me, ‘Hey, this could be the last time, so just enjoy it. Look at it as a privilege that you get to compete at a meet like this, and just have fun,’” McCleary said. “It would be an honor to make it to NCAAs and to be able to dive at that meet. What better way to go out than never making NCAAs and having that be the last thing you do to end your career? These last couple of weeks, since SECs, I’ve just been taking it all in.”

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