ROCHESTER, NY – Senior Alexa Rizzo had a strong finish and took second place overall and fellow senior Elizabeth Tripp captured fifth place for the Nazareth University Women's Swimming and Diving team on the first day of competition at the NCAA Diving Regional Championship at RIT.

Rizzo guaranteed herself a spot at the NCAA Championships and Tripp is in a strong position to advance to the national championships as well.

Both divers were among the top five on the leaderboard for a majority of the 11-dive competition on the 1-meter board. Rizzo finished with a 441.65 final score. Tripp finished firth with her score of 430.85.

Rizzo scored at least a 40 on six of her final seven dives to solidify her position on the leaderboard but it was her 10th dive – an inward 1 ½ somersault pike that she scored 7.0 across the board with a dive score of 50.40, that moved her near the top of the scorers list.

Tripp had her top scoring dive on her sixth dive as she used a forward 2 ½ somersault pike to record a 49.20. She added a 48.60 on her final dive with a back one somersault with 2 ½ twists in the free position to take fifth place overall.

Competition continues Saturday with the 3-meter event. At the conclusion of Saturday's 11 dives, the final NCAA qualifier list and alternates will be announced.