For most divers, the season has already drawn to a close, but for a few Bruins, this weekend’s NCAA Zone E Championships will offer a final opportunity to qualify for nationals.
With these high stakes, the three competing divers – senior Michelle Vale, junior Paulina Guzman and sophomore Emma Ivory-Ganja – said they will have to cope with a much more intense atmosphere at Zone E this weekend than they did at the Pac-12 Championships a few weeks ago.
“This meet’s going to be a lot quieter and … the air will be more tense,” Ivory-Ganja said.
The divers have various ways of coping with the serious environment, which Guzman said can often feel lonely – especially without the rest of the team present to cheer competitors on and offer feedback on dives.
“I have to be social, or else,” Guzman said. “I can’t be in my own little shell because that’s when I start thinking (and) having a little battle in my head.”
Ivory-Ganja takes the opposite approach, avoiding distractions during the competition.
“I try to keep to myself and stay in my own world and not try to focus on what else is going on around me,” Ivory-Ganja said.
In general, the women said they are aiming to stay positive. Rather than getting anxious over what could go wrong during the meet, the divers are focusing on internal discipline to prepare for the weekend’s mental demands.
But nonetheless, divers said they are well aware that this is their last opportunity to put all their hard work into practice and reach their full potential.
“I feel like my four years have prepared me for this weekend, and I’m excited to show it off,” Vale said.
Dive coach Tom Stebbins said he believes this attitude of positivity will lead to success this weekend. Stebbins noted that it’s the divers who don’t get “worked up” that succeed in stressful competitions like Zone E, but he isn’t worried about the three UCLA divers competing.
“At this point it’s about being familiar with the dive; it’s about letting the dive happen through you,” Stebbins said. “If we just let ourselves play, we’re going to be really good.”