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University of Rochester Athletics

UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER YELLOWJACKETS
Kaela Springer
Rochester Athletics
Springer is URochester's first NCAA Regional diving champion.

Springer Wins NCAA Regional 3-Meter Diving Title

2/28/2026 8:49:00 PM

By: Scott Sabocheck, Director of Athletic Communications
HENRIETTA, NY – Sophomore diver Kaela Springer used two stellar dives to close out the competition and earn first place on the 3-meter board at the 2026 NCAA Division III Region 4 Diving Championship on Saturday afternoon at RIT's Judson Pool.
 
Springer becomes URochester's first ever NCAA Regional diving champion and with the win will earn a berth into the NCAA Division III Championships taking place in Indianapolis, Indiana in March.
 
The sophomore scored 461.45 points, eclipsing second place Lydia Benjamin of Stevens by just over five points to earn the victory. Junior teammate Julia Sides also dove, representing the Yellowjackets, and finished a solid ninth on Saturday, scoring 418.55 points.
 
Springer's final two dives were huge scores, leading all 27 divers overall, moving her up the leaderboard and into first place. Both of her final two dives netted over 50 points. She received 50.40 points for her forward two and a half somersault pike and then added a whopping 58.05 points to her total for the inward two and a half somersault tuck to wrap things up. Both of those dives scored 7.0's or better from the scoring judges.
 
Other solid dives from Springer on the day were the reverse two and a half somersault tuck that scored 46.20 points and the back two and a half somersault tuck which added 44.80 points to her score.
 
Sides started out strong for the second day in a row, scoring well on her required dives early in her list. The junior scored 7.0 grades from the scoring judges on her back dive straight, which equaled 35.70 points, third best in the field for that round. He also had two 6.5's and a 7.0 judges score on the inward dive pike.
 
Additionally, on her final two dives, Sides scored above 37 points, finishing as her highest scoring of the competition. The junior scored 37.95 points on her forward somersault double twist dive and then closed the meet with 41.40 points coming on her back somersault one and a half twist dive.
 
By virtue of the win, Springer will officially be announced as a competitor for the 2026 NCAA Division III Championships on Monday. NCAA's will take place at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis from March 18-21.