It had been at least six years since a Kansas University athlete competed in the U.S. Senior Diving National Championships.

Two divers – sophomore Erin Mertz and junior Meghan Proehl – will put an end to that streak this summer.

“It’s just an amazing opportunity,” Proehl said. “I will be getting to dive with some of the best divers in the country and some girls that just competed at Olympic trials, which is huge. It’s going to be a great experience competing in a field as elite as this is going to be.”

The Senior Diving Nationals will be held Tuesday through Sunday in Pasadena, Calif. – a perfect location for Proehl, a San Diego native.

“That actually kind of factored into my decision of doing this event,” Proehl said. “I was really uneasy about it because I’ve just been practicing on my own. But (KU diving coach) Eric Elliott was really urging me to do it. So I decided, ‘Why not? It’s in California.’ So being able to go to Nationals is just amazing, and both of my parents, I think, are going to be able to make it up to watch me.”

Proehl will be diving in just the one-meter event, while Mertz will take on both the one-meter and three-meter platforms.

“I want to say it will boost the program, just to show what we do have and people that represent really well,” Mertz said.

Another one of Elliott’s divers will be heading to Senior Nationals. Logan Kline, a member of the Jayhawk Diving Club, qualified for the event, along with qualifying for the U.S. Junior Nationals.

Fellow club divers David Knopke and Ford McLiney will join Kline at Junior Nationals, which will be August 6-10.