Divers Stramandi, Lutz earn All-America recognition

Over Spring Break, junior Danielle Stramandi and senior Erin Lutz attained All-America status at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Much like their dives, their road to success was far from straight.

Sports dreams are common, and being a gymnast at the national level is a dream that many can claim to have shared with both Stramandi and Lutz. But a height of four feet, eight inches comes and goes pretty quickly in one's youth, and with it goes the dream of gymnastic stardom.

This vision of gymnastic success was the story of both Stramandi and Lutz. When the five-foot mark was reached and surpassed, however, physical reality ended their dreams of gymnastic stardom.

But it was hardly the end of their athletic pursuits. The two Tigers decided in their early teens to trade in the vault for the diving board, a decision which ultimately placed them in Long Island, N.Y., over spring break, where both earned All-America honors at NCAAs — helping Princeton to a 25th-place finish.

Both Lutz and Stramandi — natives of the Princeton area — have been diving with head coach Greg Gunn for 12 years, beginning with his age-group team when they were younger. The two athletes piqued his interest because of their gymnastic skills.

"A lot of the same abilities are required," Lutz said. "You need the same spatial-awareness skills and you have to be strong and flexible."

Gunn's belief that these gymnasts could be outstanding divers was not unfounded. On Long Island, Stramandi dove her way to the realization of one of her more recent goals — to medal in NCAA competition. Her performance in the 10-meter platform diving earned her the bronze medal.

"When I found out how I placed it was very emotional," Stramandi said. "I just wanted to keep smiling. I think this feeling only comes when an athlete reaches a level where all the hard work comes together and either you perform well at the meet or you don't. I love that challenge, and that's why I compete."

After completing her voluntary dives and preliminary competition, Stramandi's score was 148.75. This put her in sixth place heading into the finals and the five optional dives.

Stramandi considers the optional portion of the competition, in which the dives have a higher degree of difficulty, to be her forte.

Stramandi's estimate was not misguided. After two rounds in the finals, the Tiger edged into fifth place. In the fourth round, Stramandi executed the dive that would highlight the meet. She performed an armstand back double with a half-twist. The dive was scored at 69.75 and was the highest scoring dive of the meet, propelling her to a final-round-best score of 296.40, third place and a bronze medal.

Lutz, in her fourth year at the NCAA meet, found similar success. While she considers the three-meter — in which she is the four-time Ivy League champion — her better event, it was the one-meter where she placed eighth with a score of 271.60, less than three points behind the seventh place finisher.

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"I was surprised to place," Lutz said. "I wasn't watching the competition that closely. I dove consistently but not amazingly. I expected to come in around 15th."