On tap with ... junior diver Michael Papageorge

Junior diver Michael Papageorge of the swimming and diving team started this season well. In the one-meter diving event, he came in second in the Tigers’ first meet and third last weekend.

Q: What was your “welcome to college” moment?

A: I was wandering through Dillon, and just as I found my OA group, one of my good friends from home, who was a sophomore at the time, tackled me out of nowhere. I’m pretty sure only mice really understood all of the high-pitched things she screamed, but I think I caught “welcome to Princeton.” So I guess that’s my welcome-to-college moment.

Q: What has been the greatest highlight in your sports career?

A: The EISL championship meet my freshman year. It’s an unbelievable feeling to do well personally and then win as a team in front of so many dedicated alumni. A crowd that big and the feeling that you are part of team are things you just don’t have at the club level in diving.

Q: What has been the funniest story about your coach?

A: This one day after they had just finished painting several things at the pool, and the fumes were still pretty bad, we all get to practice, and our coach had a gas mask on. In his defense, the smell was a bit nauseating, but the sight of our coach in a gas mask coupled with the muffled sounds that came from it was just priceless.

Q: Who is your quirkiest teammate? Why?

A: [Junior] Daniel [Dickerson] for sure. Whatever he is thinking he will just say. Most of the time it’s a bit absurd but almost always very entertaining. It’s like there is no verbal filter.

Q: What has been your most embarrassing moment with the team?

A: On the way up to the EISL championship last year I was a bit sick, and I had terrible farts. It was pretty embarrassing being the smelly kid on the team.

Q: What’s the best part about being an athlete on campus?

A: I would say all of the free chocolate milk we get in our team room. There’s nothing better after a tough practice or lift than a good chocolate milk.

Q: What’s the worst/hardest part about being an athlete on campus?

A: Probably balancing between the hours that I practice diving and the hours that I practice Wii sports. Sometimes my schedule can get pretty overwhelming.

Q: What’s your favorite thing to do when not practicing?

A: Playing Wii sports for sure. I feel like it makes me a much more well-rounded athlete.

Q: If you didn’t dive, what other sport would you play?

A: Wii tennis would definitely be the other sport, but I have always wanted to try lacrosse as well.

Q: Favorite class taken at Princeton? Why?

A: Not to be a huge nerd, but my favorite class at Princeton so far has been Fluid Dynamics. I am very interested in high-speed flight, and the class deals with all of the aerodynamics around wings.

Q: Who gets the most guys/girls on the team? Who has the most game off the field?

A: On the girls side I would say [junior] Courtney [Kilkuts] definitely has the most game — definitely the star of date night. On the guys side I think Daniel [Dickerson] gets the most girls. Every Monday at practice he has another story to tell.

Q: Do you have a pre-game ritual?

A: Not really. I have never been the superstitious type, but this one guy on our team likes to sleep for at least 24-36 hours leading up to a meet.

Q: Most embarrassing song on your iPod?

A: I don’t care what anyone else says, Kelly Clarkson and Ashley Simpson are ballers.