Butler, Jespersgaard Thrive at Trojan Diving Invitational

Day 1 – 1-Meter Springboard

The UCLA dive team opened up the 2021 Trojan Diving Invitational with a strong performance in the 1-meter springboard championship on Friday afternoon, as junior Hannah Butler and freshman Zoe Jespersgaard placed 2-3 and secured qualification to the 2022 NCAA Zone E Diving Championships.

Butler, a 2020 All-American in 1M, was the runner-up in the competition after posting a final score of 548.30. She was less than a dozen points out of the lead at the end of prelims (276.90), and added a 271.40 in the final to retain her second-place position. With the result, Butler will compete at Zones for the third consecutive year.

Jespersgaard meanwhile followed up her 252.95 from prelims with a 267.90 in the finals, eclipsing the 260-point mark needed for Zones qualification. The Los Angeles native averaged a 6.5 on each of her final two dives to push her score up above the Zones-qualifying mark.

UCLA's three-diver contingent on Friday was rounded out by sophomore Aurora Huxman, who logged a final score of 406.90 (201.90 in prelims, 205.00 in finals) to finish 14th.

The Trojan Diving Invitational continues on Saturday with the 3-meter springboard championship. Prelims begin at 11:00 a.m. PT with finals to follow at approximately 12:30 p.m. PT. USC will live stream the competition.

Day 2 – 3-Meter Springboard

Junior Hannah Butler and freshmen Zoe Jespersgaard both finished top-four in the 3-meter springboard championship at the Trojan Diving Invitational on Saturday.

Both also posted scores above 280.00 in the competition, giving them both double-qualification to the 2022 NCAA Zone E Diving Championships in conjunction with Monday's 1-meter results.

Jespersgaard was the runner-up among all divers on Saturday, finishing with a final score of 580.75. She was just 7.40 points behind eventual winner Nike Agunbiade (USC) after posting a 282.10 in the prelims, and then followed up with a 298.65 in the finals.

Butler meanwhile improved from a 261.95 in the prelims to record a score of 304.45 in the finals. That mark was the second-highest of any diver on Saturday, and was just 2.15 points off her previous collegiate-best. Her final score of 566.40 was good for fourth place.

Sophomore Aurora Huxman narrowly missed out on a top-10 finish of her own, ending the session with a score of 444.35.

UCLA wraps up at the 2021 Trojan Diving Invitational with Sunday's platform championship. Prelims are scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. PT, followed by finals at approximately 12:30 p.m.

Day 3 – Platform

Aurora Huxman (375.45) was UCLA's top finisher in Sunday's platform competition, taking seventh place. 

Not far behind were Jespersgaard (365.95, 9th) and Butler (355.55, 11th). All three of UCLA's entries made the 12-diver final. 

The Bruins are next in action at the Ohio State Fall Invitational, which runs for three days starting on Thursday, Nov. 18.