Hayward Punches Ticket to National Meet

Anderson University men's diving senior Matthew Hayward punches his ticket to the NCAA D-III Swimming & Diving Championships, which was announced on Monday.

During last weekend's NCAA D-III Central Diving Regionals, Hayward captured second place in the 11-dive 1-meter diving event with a score of 446.30 points and an average of 40.57 points per dive. The Fort Wayne native also claimed seventh in the 11-dive 3-meter diving event with a score of 414.60 points and an average of 37.69 points per dive.

"I am thrilled to officially have our first ever NCAA D-III National Qualifier," Head Coach Emma Furnish said. "It's an honor to have watched Matthew put in hours of work and for it to finally pay off! Matthew is a very talented athlete that has worked day in and day out, year after year for this. I am excited to see how he does at nationals in a few weeks."

"I'm insanely proud of how Matthew did at regionals after coming off his conference sweep," Assistant Diving Coach Miles Rohrbaugh said. "He's been working like crazy this season and it's finally paying off. His dedication to his craft is second to none and he is an incredible role model for younger and less-experienced divers. I can't wait to see how he will impress on the national stage."

"The [regional meet] was very neck and neck the entire time," Hayward said. "There were a lot of great divers there as well. Coach Rohrbaugh and I set this as our goal and I trained very hard for this. It feels great to see my goals become a reality. The job is not done yet."

The NCAA D-III Swimming & Diving Championships are being held in Greensboro, N.C. Hayward battles in the 3-meter diving event on Wednesday, March 20 at 6 p.m. He then competes in the 1-meter diving event on Friday, March 22 at 6 p.m.