After four years of being the top diver on the Wisconsin diving team, senior Amanda Witte is sent to bid adieu.

"It's been a bumping ride with coaching changes and injuries, but I've really enjoyed being a leader and a captain," Witte said. "It has been a great experience. I wouldn't change anything."

Witte and the Wisconsin dive team will have one final opportunity to showcase its talents this weekend at the NCAA Region C Diving Zone Championships in Columbus, Ohio. The meet is the final step in qualifying for the NCAA Championships later this month.

Zone C is one of the toughest zones in the nation. The meet will feature schools from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Sophomore twins Justin and Josh Bonner, as well as sophomore Laura Davidson and freshman Kelly Todd, will all be in contention with Witte for a bid to the NCAA Championships.

"It could be the last meet of my career, so I definitely want to do well," Witte said. "Obviously my goal is to make it to NCAAs, but if that does not happen, I just want to have a really great final meet."

"Ultimately, the goal going into Zones is to qualify for NCAAs," head dive coach Josh Seykora explained. "Whether we are there this year or not is dependent on the meet. I mean, this is where we have to look ahead because this is where the program needs to go."

Zone C was allocated 16 spots, five for the men and 11 for the women. The allocations are based on performances at last year's NCAA Championships. Since Zone C was competitively represented last year, more spots have been opened. A total of 35 divers from all the Zones will qualify for this year's men's NCAA Championships, while 41 divers will qualify for the women's NCAA Championships.

"It opens doors for people, like Amanda, who might be on the bubble," Seykora said. "But still, with 11 stops, it just means that our Zone is deeper. But, it is definitely a plus for us, being that our Zone is one of the toughest in the country."

Divers can advance to the NCAAs by qualifying on one board or by accumulating a certain number of points over the weekend on all three boards. Once a diver qualifies, they can compete on all the boards at the NCAA Championships.

Witte has the best chance of all three Badgers to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the platform event. Last month at the Big Ten Championships, she finished 14th in that event. She is also the school record holder in platform.

"I had a pretty good meet on platform at Big Tens, although it wasn't great, but I could have done better," she said. "I'm looking forward to the chance to see what I can do at Zones."

"Amanda has a shot," Seykora added. "We dove well at Big Tens, but we needed to dive better, especially on the women's side. I think if Amanda dives to her potential and is as sharp and consistent as she can be, she will definitely be able to fight for a spot. I think platform is one of her better events, but it is also one of the hardest events to qualify on."

This meet will be a first for Davidson and Todd and a second for the Bonners. Seykora is hoping all four will gain experience and improve throughout the weekend.

"This is going to be a meet for some of our divers to gain experience, especially Kelly and Laura," Seykora said. "On the men's side, we definitely need to make adjustments from Big Tens. I think Kelly started off strong at Big Tens and then faltered at the end. So, I'm expecting a stronger meet from him and from the twins.

"My expectations are that all five of our divers will fight to final," Seykora added.

All five divers will each participate in the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform diving events. The 1-meter competition begins Friday, followed by the 3-meter on Saturday and platform on Sunday.

Seykora would like to see his Badgers end their season on a high note, especially Witte.

"It's been great coaching her," he said. "She takes diving very seriously, and she takes the team very seriously. Her passion and desire for the team to be better is huge. She is definitely one of the hardest workers and most inspirational workers that we've had.

"She has definitely been enjoying the last few weeks, and I think she is enjoying the last time she has here heading into Zones and NCAAs," Seykora added. "But realistically, she wants to go out on a winning note. She wants to dive well. I think she has earned the right to enjoy this meet."

As for Witte: "I want to have a good time and go out on a positive note," she said. "Hopefully, I can dive well enough so I can sneak in there. For Zones, it does not matter what you came in with, it matters how you dive there. So, an on or off day can make or break qualifying for NCAAs. Whatever happens, happens. I'm just looking forward to being a normal college student."