The Cornell dive team experienced their last go-around at Teagle Pool for the 2021-2022 season. This past weekend the Red hosted the Big Red Diving Invitational with divers from Colgate, St. Bonaventure and Yale in attendance.
This is an especially competitive invitational against Yale as it’s their last time competing against them before the 2022 Ivy League Swimming and Diving Competition.
“[This meet] allowed us to gauge our standings in relation to their divers and also further develop a camaraderie with them,” said freshman diver Soodong Kim in reference to competing against Yale.
During this season, both the men and women dive teams succeeded against St. Bonaventure but fell to Yale. However, this was Colgate’s first time in competition with Cornell this season, giving them something new to discover: The women’s team’s non-stop successful duo senior Demetra Williams and junior Elise Jendritz. The two divers were looking for big wins in this competition to solidify their placement in Ivies.
The men’s team had four competitors: Kim, senior Jameson Crandell and sophomores Matthew Warren and Gabe Hartman.
“This invitational allowed us all to assess our progress during this season and look to technical details that could be improved come the Ivy League Championship,” Kim said.
According to Kim, diving is a rather individualistic sport that focuses on the technicality of each dive. Kim says that one slight move can disrupt the whole position and the end result, so it’s all about the concentration involved when stepping onto that board. During practice, one can learn how to handle the overwhelming multitude of factors that create a perfect dive, but during a meet, the pressure can take a diver over, Kim said.
“[It can be] exponentially more difficult to control during a meet with the added stress [and] desire to beat personal best scores and opponents,” Kim said. “It is difficult to remain poised, control the adrenaline and block everything out except for the board, water and yourself.”
Entering into Ivies, both teams prepare for one last competition of the 2021-2022 season. The women’s team championship will occur from Wednesday, Feb. 16 – Saturday, Feb. 19 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In the meantime, the men’s team will prepare for their final four-day competition from Wednesday, Feb. 23 – Saturday, Feb. 26 in Princeton, New Jersey
“I am especially excited to see Jay Crandell compete,” Kim said. “His performance has truly been an inspiration, and his leadership and dedication both in and out of the pool has been one of the largest contributors to the collective success of our team.”