Yuliya Tykha and Silvia Alessio will represent Fresno State at the NCAA Zone E Diving Championship this week.
The pair of divers are set to compete in their respective events at Northern Arizona University over the next three days. Both will be diving in the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions set for on Monday and Tuesday.
Tykha will also be competing in the platform event set for Wednesday.
The event marks the third consecutive appearance for Tykah, who is coming off of a strong finish at the Mountain West Championship where she finished in the top five for multiple events.
“I just hope to do my best and finish at the best I can, and we’ll see whatever happens at the meet,” Tykha said.
Entering what is now her third regional championship appearance, the senior diver is heading into the meet with years of experience.
At last year’s competition she finished 16th in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events, and in the 2019-2020 season she qualified for the NCAA championship meet after a ninth-place finish in the platform event. The 2019-2020 season championships were canceled due to COVID-19.
Now wrapping up her final season as a Bulldog, Tykha said she feels she has improved throughout this year’s competitions.
“I’ve been improving from the last few seasons, and I’ve been getting some of my personal best scores this season, which has been very important to me,” Tykha said.
This improvement has led to an impressive performance in the MW Championship, where her 331.70 1-meter score not only earned her a second-place finish in the event, but set a program record.
This historic late-season performance has capped off a strong senior season, one in which Tykha has seen more consistency.
Tykha scored 246.10 on the 1-meter and 264.45 on the 3-meter in the finals last season and placed third at the MW Championship on the diving platform with a score of 235.30. She also took sixth in the 3-meter (276.70) and finished fifth in the 1-meter at the MW Championship (270.30).
This historic late-season performance has capped off a strong senior season, one in which Tykha said she has seen more consistency.
“I feel like I’ve been more consistent than the last few seasons and definitely less nervous at the meets,” Tykha said. “And I think that it’s a pretty big accomplishment for me.”
The upcoming NCAA Zone E Championship is potentially Tykha’s last career meet as a Bulldog as the senior is set to graduate this year.
As for Alessio, this appearance will be her first at the event. The Fresno State junior also earned her spot through her standout performance in the MW Championship.
In her last season, she earned All-Mountain West honors, placing seventh at the 3-meter in the MW Championship with a score of 275.10 and taking eighth in the 1-meter at the MW Championship (244.05).
She finished in first place on the 1-meter against UC Davis on Feb. 5 with a score of 247.58 and posted a score of 168.05 in the platform at the MW Championship.
Alessio placed 12th overall in the 1-meter event with a personal best score of 292, and 21st overall in the platform event with a 199.35 at the MW Championships.
