ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia Tech’s Max Fowler secured his spot in the 2026 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships after finishing in the top-eight of the men’s one-meter diving final on Monday evening. The junior has now qualified for five total NCAA events.
The day began with the women’s three-meter preliminary round with three Tech divers set to compete. Lizzie Powley continued her strong start to the championships with four consecutive 40+ point dives including a back two-and-a-half somersault tuck that registered a 49.00 score. Elisabeth Rockefeller laid down the first 50-point attempt for the Jackets with her reverse two-and-a-half somersault tuck.
Senior Ava Gilroy had a late surge with back-to-back 50.40 dives to put herself into the finals conversation going into the final dive. Powley finished 22nd with 265.45 points, Gilroy finished just 0.75 off Powley to place 23rd with Rockefeller finishing with 261.90.
Fowler returned to the one-meter board for the first time since claiming silver in this year’s ACC Championship final. He recorded a solid first dive at 51.00 points before landing his reverse two-and-a-half somersault tuck for a 67.50 score in his best attempt of the prelims session. Fowler cruised to the finals in fourth place with a total score of 370.65.
The Burke, Virginia, native stuck to his routine and completed a solid finals session. All six dives scored over 60 points with his inward two-and-a-half somersault tuck accumulating 69.75 points on his final attempt. He claimed fourth-place overall and secured his place in the NCAA Championships at his home pool.
Fowler has qualified for the NCAA one-meter event in all three seasons and will look to lock down his spot in the men’s three-meter championship tomorrow.
Gilroy will round out the women’s portion of the championship in the platform event beginning at 11:15 a.m. as Fowler competes in the men’s three-meter event at 2:40 p.m.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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