The Auburn diving team has an advantage heading into the Zone B NCAA diving qualifiers.
Instead of traveling across multiple states to compete in an event that determines the NCAA Championship entries, the Tigers have the luxury of competing in their home pool.
Auburn will host the Zone B NCAA qualifiers March 5-7 at the Martin Aquatic Center. The top divers in the zone will advance to the NCAA Championship.
Senior diver Anna Aguero said the familiarity of Auburn's facility will give Auburn an advantage.
"It's a really good feeling," Aguero said. "It gives you a lot more confidence. It really gives you an advantage over your competition. You're used to the boards, you're used to the pool, and you're used to all the surroundings. It just gets you one leg up on everyone else."
Freshman diver Fraser McKean said the lack of travel will keep Auburn fresher than its competition.
"Traveling takes a lot out of you," McKean said. "You have to get used to the pool and the boards for sure."
Coach Jeff Shaffer hopes to carry the momentum from the men's 16th consecutive SEC Championship into the meet.
"Overall, I was really pleased (with the SECs)," Shaffer said. "We took eight divers to the meet, four men and four women, and they all scored. It was very solid. On the men's side we were 67 points up over Florida, and we won the meet by 30. It's always good to contribute to a team title."
Helping win titles has been a theme for Shaffer's diving teams during his tenure.
"The one thing I am proud of is that this is my 13th year, and I think diving has played a significant role in most of those titles," Shaffer said. "I've always said there is no one point more important than the other, but when I came here it was my goal to always contribute to team titles and NCAA titles."
In contrast to previous events, the zone qualifiers are a place for individuals to focus on their dives in order to advance to the next round.
"(The zones are) the only opportunity to advance to the NCAA Championships and contribute to the team's success there," Shaffer said. "It's probably one of the most mentally challenging events for the divers because it doesn't matter what they've done all year long, they have a chance to get to the NCAA Championships."
Shaffer said his team can only worry about what they can control during the meet.
"Our focus has been taking control over what they have control over and continuing to be consistent in what they do on a daily basis and transfer that (to the meet)," Shaffer said.
McKean said the key to taking on new challenges is to focus on the present.
"You take it one day at a time, one practice, one competition at a time," McKean said.
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