After the NCAA Swim and Dive Championships, dive coach Tom Stebbins immediately began his search to add another recruit to his 2009-2010 dive team.
“We re-focused on working on (the recruitment process) now that the season is over,” Stebbins said after the NCAA Championships. “It was tough how it was going during the season, and we’ve been lucky to get good kids so far.”
With the likes of All-American honorees Marisa Samaniego and Tess Schofield departing, as well as fellow-seniors Brittany Hill and Shannon Pirozzi, the team was thin with just three returning divers at season’s end.
Though Stebbins had already signed Margaret Boyd and Michelle Vale last November, two versatile athletes who can compete on all three boards, his recruiting was still not complete.
On Tuesday, Stebbins announced that Karina Silva has signed her National Letter-of-Intent and will transfer from Miami Dade College to UCLA in the fall.
A graduate of Keystone National High School, Silva has accumulated international and national accomplishments year after year. Her arrival should help offset the loss of the four of this year’s seniors to graduation.
Silva’s diving talent has taken her to places like China, Sweden, Moscow, and Spain, among other places.
Silva has participated in the 2008 World Cup in Beijing, China. She was also the 2008 European Cup Finalist on the platform in Stockholm, Sweden.
Next year’s team dynamic will be very different, yet Stebbins still looks to the fall season with only optimism. He said he believes Silva’s experience will facilitate the maturation process for the young Bruins, who will be without a senior leader next year.
Meanwhile, sophomore Laura Winn’s quantum leaps this year have Stebbins tabbing her as the leader for next year’s squad.
“We still have pieces that we need to put together next year, but I’m real pleased with where I think we’re going to go,” Stebbins said.