PISCATAWAY, NJ – A pair of Rider University divers competed in the 3M at the NCAA ZONE A Championships on Monday afternoon at the Sonny Werblin Recreation Center on the campus of Rutgers University.

Freshman Dillon Walles (The Woodlands, TX/The Woodlands High School) qualified for the finals and finished in 16th-place, while junior Joe Warker (Reading, PA/Wilson) came in 34th in the preliminaries.

"Dillon really represented us well," Rider Head Coach Steve Fletcher said. "Making the finals in the Zone is a terrific accomplishment as a freshman and gives Dillon a great experience to build from in the years to come. He's motivated by his experience at the this level to continue hard to improve."

In the prelims, Warker posted a score of 231.60 while Walles sat in 14th with a mark 304.00. In the finals, Walles ended up with 597.05 points to finish 16th overall.

"Joe was great today," Fletcher added. "He competed well and has confidence for the one-meter event tomorrow. He's very proficient on the one-meter and tomorrow will demonstrate his competitiveness."
 
On the women's side, junior Breanne Hatter (Lincroft, NJ/Middletown HS South) qualified for the Zone A Championships, but she was unable to compete due to an injury.

"Bre qualified, but broke her hand in a workout one week before the event," Fletcher noted. "She hit the board with enough force to require pins in her hand to heal. She had such a conference meet and was really on a high preparing for this event. Bre belongs at this level of competition and I'm confident she'll get another shot in 2019."