Kaku Earns NCAA Championships Qualification at NCAA Regional Diving Meet

(CORTLAND, N.Y.) - Junior Machika Kaku (Irvine, Calif./University) of the Carnegie Mellon University women's swimming and diving team earned her second entrance to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships with her finishes at the NCAA Region 4 Championships on Friday, February 26 and Saturday, February 27. The regional diving event was hosted by SUNY Cortland.

Kaku dove to a sixth-place finish on the one-meter diving board Friday afternoon, scoring 412.15 points after 11 dives. On Saturday, she placed 10th on the three-meter board with 403.15 points.

Also diving at the regional was senior Winona Li (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton). Li placed 12th on the three-meter board with 393.80 points and 17th on the one-meter board with 357.75 points. Graduate student Andie Azofeifa (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County) also dove for the second year at regionals alonside Li and Kaku. Azofeifa closed her career with 351.35 points on the one-meter board and 363.80 points on the three-meter board.

Kaku, earned All-America Honorable Mention at last year's NCAA Championships and returns to the national meet for the second time. The NCAA Championships will be hosted in Greensboro, N.C., beginning on Thursday, March 17 and ending on Saturday, March 20.