Men's diving makes a splash this season

Elizabeth Anderson Guest Writer

Six days a week the three athletes on the men’s diving team climb the few meters up to practice their aerobatic sport, breaking the surface of the cold, still water again and again. The other thing they’re breaking this season is school records.

Of the veteran divers Andrew Wood ’08 has been especially successful this season.

“It has been remarkable to watch [Wood] start from scratch,” said Head Coach Tom Albright. “He has hit bumps in the road but he is one of the toughest and most tenacious kids I’ve met in my 34 years of coaching.”

Wood walked onto the diving team in his freshman year and has since helped build and strenghten the team. He recently qualified for the national tournament during a meet against New York University (NYU) on Feb. 3.

Despite Vassar’s 106-169 loss to NYU, Wood achieved a National Collegiate Athletic Aassociation (NCAA) qualifying score of 278.5 in 3-meter diving, exceeding the 275-point total required.

Wood will need to qualify for a second time at either of the two final meets in order to secure his entry in nationals. He currently holds all four diving records at Vassar, including 1-M Diving (11), 339.95, 1-M Diving (6), 227.90, 3-M Diving (11), 315.63, and 3-M Diving (6), 278.5. Although there is no official standing for the category, he is projected to be ranked third in the state.

Don Pinkus ’10 and Aaron Lefkowitz ’10 have also significantly contributed to the team this season. Pinkus walked on this year with no prior experience diving and Lefkowitz walked on last year with limited experience. This season both have recorded critical points in every meet.

With around 50 qualifiers for nationals, there is a very selective process for the national competitors. Each dive is videotaped and sent to the NCAA committee to be screened and reassessed. Two qualifying meet scores will not necessarily guarantee a diver’s place at nationals.
The men take their next plunge in the season at the Vassar Sprint Invitational will be held this Saturday, Feb. 16, at Vassar.

Though the diving season is long, beginning in September and ending in March, winer break training trip in Florida was helpful in rejuvinating the team. The Brewers believe that the training will pay off in the remaining meets of the year by Wood’s selection to nationals.

“We are really looking forward to State Championships because we have spent all this year working toward it,” said Albright. Ten teams compete in the state meet, which will be held at Syracuse during the last week of February.

As for the future, Albright hopes to expand his program at Vassar to include a women’s team. He’ll get a chance next season, as a female diver was admitted Early Decision to the Class of 2012.

And with Wood graduating and Lefkowitz going abroad next year, new members will have large shoes to fill.

“We’re not done yet. I keep climbing the ladder to change records on Vassar’s record board and I don’t mind doing it again,” said Albright.