TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

How does the point system for divers at dual meets work in terms of earning team points?
We score team points just as the swimmers do - it is just an extra event in the meet. First place earns your team nine points, then four for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth.

At a given competition, how many times do you dive? What do the judges look for?
In a dual meet, we do six dives from each board. In a championship meet, you do six dives from the one-meter board and then they cut the field to eight. Those remaining repeat another six dives. From the three-meter board at a championship meet, you do 11 total dives - six optional and five voluntary.

A judge looks for lots of different things - your technique on the board, your form in the air and your entry into the pool.

How many types of dives are there? Which ones do you utilize?
There are five different groups of dives from the springboard - front, back, reverse, inverse and twisting. It is the same on the platform, except you add armstands.

I usually just compete in the one-meter and three-meter events and utilize all five groups.

When did you begin diving and how did you first get involved in the sport?
I started diving in seventh grade. I was just fooling around in a pool class and a high school coach saw me and asked me to come try out. So I did, and have been diving ever since.

How much of an adjustment was it to get used to diving at the Division I level?
For four years, I was part of the Wings Diving program, which is a junior Olympic program that was run by my current diving coach, Kara Sixbury. That took place in the Alumni Arena Natatorium five days a week, so coming here was not too much of an adjustment. The major change really came in terms of having schoolwork to go along with it.

What are the benefits of previously having worked with Kara Sixbury?
Since I have known Kara for so long, there is a comfort level there. In diving, you rely on your coach a lot. There needs to be a lot of trust there, and that's what I have.

With only a couple of divers on your roster, do you often help one another out? What types of work do you do together in practice?
There is a lot of support amongst our group. It really depends what time of the season we are at as far as what we are doing. Early on, we work on basics, where as towards mid-season you may try learning some new dives. At the end of the season, you critique yourself more and try to have all your dives down.

When you talk about basics, what exactly are you referring to?
Basics include easy dives like front jumps. There is a lot of board work involved. When you are focused on the basics, you also work on lining up your entry into the water.

Aside from actually diving in practice, what other items and practices are used in an attempt to improve?
We use the TiVo system. After every dive, you come out of the water and watch a replay - which comes up about 45 seconds after your dive. That system plays a really big role in our training.

In the early part of the season, we lift weights in the morning and then do some dry-land training. Then, we have our usual afternoon workout.

In the men's swimming and diving media guide, you list building and flying radio-controlled airplanes as one of your hobbies? How did that interest come about?
I have always had an interest in airplanes - I still want to be a pilot when I am older. I started building the radio-controlled airplanes when I was younger - probably about the same time I started diving - and I have continued on with that interest.

-The "10 Questions with…" feature is compiled by Geoff Nason.