TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

With your score of 256.05 points in the one-meter competition at St. Bonaventure on Oct. 27, you qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in March. How nice is it to have that qualifying out of the way already?
To qualify so early in the season is such a relief. Last year, I struggled all season to qualify and now this year I don't have to worry about it. Now, I can relax and work on perfecting all my dives.

This year, you have a new diving coach in Karla Helder, who had a very accomplished career as a coach at UC-Davis. What has she brought to the team?
Karla is very knowledgeable in the sport of diving. Her coaching style is very different from what I was used to in Kara Sixbury, but I think it has been a great change and as a diving team, we feel it has showed in how well we have started the season. We all expect great things this season, including Karla.

During your freshman year, you earned the team's Top Newcomer Award after placing sixth in the one-meter competition at the Mid-American Conference championships and seventh in the three-meter competition. Did you think you would come out that strong so quickly?
Your freshman year on the team is a learning and growing experience. At MACs, I was very relaxed. I dove the way I knew how and I was really confident in my abilities. As a result, I dove pretty well on both boards.

You won the New York State title as a senior at Williamsville North. What was that moment like for you?
My whole diving career I worked very hard to accomplish that goal. Being my final year at Williamsville North, I wanted to go out with a bang and I knew I did. My coaches, teammates and parents were all very proud of me and I felt really great inside.

Coming from Williamsville North, just a few minutes away from the Amherst campus, what made you decide that UB and its swim program was the place to be?
I was familiar with the pool and the diving boards because I had been diving there for four years prior. I also really enjoyed working with Kara Sixbury, the former diving coach, because she helped me grow as a diver.

What are some of the differences between one-meter and three-meter diving?
To me, one-meter is easier. Three-meter you have a lot more dive to finish and sometimes there is more room for error coming off three-meter. Also, if you don’t go in the water right off three-meter, it hurts a lot more.

In the Olympics, they dive off 10-meter platforms in one event. Have you ever done that, and what is that like compared to a typical three-meter dive?
I have never dove off 10-meter platform. In high school, I started to do a little platform diving, but I never got really into it. I like staying on the springboards.

At the Olympics this year, swimmer Michael Phelps won seven gold medals and seemed to enhance America's image of swimming as a sport. Do you think any of that will carry over to diving in the near and not-so-near future?
Swimming and diving are two very different sports. When Laura Wilkinson won the 10-meter platform at the 2000 Olympics, that was great recognition for US Diving. One can only hope that in the future, the US will represent us better on the diving boards.

As a UB Scholar-Athlete as a School of Management major, how difficult has it been to juggle academics with practice and meet time?
I'd have to say each year has gotten a little bit harder. Being a senior, missing important classes is very difficult and you get behind a lot faster. But also, being a senior, I am very used to the commitment to my sport, as well as my commitment to my academics, so juggling everything is very routine.

What has been your favorite moment as a UB student-athlete?
My favorite moments are the ones at the MAC Championship meet. The team is so unified and has a lot of fun, while all working together to achieve goals.

“The 10 Questions With…” feature is compiled by Joe Guistina.