BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Bentley University senior diver Shelly D'Aleo (Enfield, Conn./Suffield Academy) and freshman teammate Nicola Mancini (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth HS) survived a pre-qualification meet Tuesday at the CrossPlex Complex, earning the right to compete in the NCAA Division II Championships later this week. A total of 22 divers, from a field of 41, advanced.

D'Aleo finished 14th in the one-meter diving with a score of 233.90 while Mancini was 19th on the one-meter (228.20) during the morning session and 17th in the three meter in the afternoon with a 222.75.

D'Aleo, who didn't compete in the three meter, made her move off the one meter over her final three dives after being in 26th place midway the competition. Her best dive was an inward one-and-a-half somersault pike, with a 2.4 degree of difficulty, in which she earned 46.80 points. She also gained 43.20 points on her final attempt, a back one somersault with a two-and-a-twist.

Mancini opened the one-meter competition in impressive fashion, vaulting to second place with a 46.20 while performing a forward one-and-a-half somersault with one twist. After a rough fourth dive, she bounced back strong with an inward one-and-a-half somersault pike producing two eights and a total of 50.40 points.

Mancini, the Northeast-10 champion off both boards, posted a pair of 42-point dives from the three meter, including a back one-and-a-half somersault with a one-and-a-half twist on her final attempt, which moved her up six places in the standings.

Senior Abby Mathews (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford HS) and sophomore Paige Wilde (Naugatuck, Conn./Holy Cross HS) also competed for Bentley in the pre-qual meet, but did not advance. Wilde was 29th in the one-meter (206.00) and 31st in the three-meter (190.80) and Mathews closed out her collegiate career with a 32nd-place finish in the one-meter (228.20).

The championships get underway Wednesday, but the Falcon contingent, which also includes senior swimmer Jessica Hodsdon (Brewer, Maine/Brewer HS), will next compete on Thursday. Hodsdon will swim the 100 yard butterfly in the morning and the one-meter diving will be contested in the afternoon. Live video will be available at www.ncaa.com/liveschedule.