Monday, March 9 - Wednesday, March 11 | All Day
[RV/RV] SMU Mustangs at the 2026 NCAA DI Zone D Diving Championships
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DALLAS (SMU) – The [RV/RV] SMU men's diving team will travel to College Station, Texas, to compete in the 2026 DI Zone Diving Championships at the Student Recreation Natatorium on March 9-11. The top 10 finalists in each event will punch their ticket to dive at the 2026 NCAA DI Swimming & Diving Championships in Atlanta, Ga., on March 25-28.

At the 2026 ACC Diving Championships, the Mustangs came home with hardware. Sophomore Luke Sitz became SMU's first-ever individual ACC Champion after earning a new school record of 429.75 on 1-meter. Sitz is the first sophomore in the ACC to win the title since Miami's Briadam Herrera in 2016. On 3-meter, Sitz earned a bronze medal, scoring a mark of 420.60. Freshman Grant Cates claimed a top-10 finish on platform, finishing ninth with a score of 315.45.

IN THE ZONE:
Every diver on the SMU men's diving team has earned a cut on at least one event, all punching their ticket to the NCAA Diving Zone D Championships. Sophomore Luke Sitz notched NCAA cuts on both 1-meter and 3-meter. Freshmen RJ Snyder and Grant Cates also have cuts on both springboard events, with Cates having another on platform. Senior John Dymond will also be competing next week after securing a cut on 1-meter.

ZONE REWIND: 
In their debut season in the ACC, the Mustangs had one diver make it to the NCAA Championships: Luke Sitz. On 1-meter, the All-American posted a cumulative final score of 735.90 in 12 dives during prelims and finals to place third in the event and earn a qualifying spot. Senior John Dymond saw action on 1-meter in prelims, earning a score of 259.65 to tie for 19th, just one spot out of a finals qualification. As a freshman, Sitz also earned a spot on 3-meter at the NCAA Championships, posting a cumulative final score of 788.80 on 12 dives during prelims and finals to place first in the event. Dymond also competed on 3-meter, recording a prelims score of 292.75 on 3-meter to place 19th.

HIGH-LEVEL DIVING IN DALLAS: 
At the 2025 USA Diving Winter Nationals, Luke Sitz found tremendous success, earning a school record on 3-meter and nabbing podium finishes on 3-meter (3rd, 800.55), 1-meter (2nd, 745.10) and synchronized 3-meter (2nd, 792.21). Freshman Grant Cates also competed at the USA Diving Winter Nationals. On platform, Cates advanced to the finals, earning a total score of 625.90 and placing 12th overall. The diver competed in the finals of synchronized platform and secured fifth overall with a 636.84 mark.

ORDER OF EVENTS:

Monday, March 9
Men's 3-Meter Prelims - 12 p.m. CT
Men's 3-Meter Finals - 1:45 p.m. CT

Tuesday, March 10
Men's 1-Meter Prelims - 12 p.m. CT
Men's 1-Meter Finals - 2 p.m. CT

Wednesday, March 11
Men's Platform Prelims - 4:15 p.m. CT
Men's Platform Finals - 5:45 p.m. CT