Stramandi earns spot on U.S. Diving team

Qualifying for NCAAs is certainly something to be proud of. Receiving All-America honors is an even greater accomplishment. But earning a spot on the US National Team is far and away the top honor any collegiate athlete can shoot for. And it's only a select few who actually hit their mark.

Women's diving's junior Danielle Stramandi joined this prestitgious list on April 21 when she competed in the 10-meter finals at the 2001 National Indoor Diving Championships in Midland, Texas. Finishing with a score of 437.36, Stramandi placed fourth in the competition and secured herself a position on the 2001 US National Diving Team.

"This is really exciting for me," Stramandi said. "It has been my dream for a really long time."

Back in the fall, Stramandi entered the 2000-01 season with two goals in mind.

"I wanted to compete in the diving finals at NCAAs and I wanted to earn a spot on the 2001 US National Diving Team," Stramandi said.

Having earned All-America honors with the bronze medal at the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships in March, she was well on her way.

With the third place finish, Stramandi qualified for the National Indoor Diving Championships.

During the preliminary round of the 10-meter platform competition April 18, she placed sixth out of 30 divers with a score of 395.46 — good enough to advance to the finals. Aware that only the top six divers would qualify for the national team, Stramandi knew that her final dives would mean the difference between checking off only one or both of her dreams.

"I had been training really hard for this all year long," she said. "I was happy with how my practices had been going, and [on Saturday] I just pretended like it was another practice. I was very relaxed in the finals, I figured why not let everyone else get nervous?"

With the fourth place finish, Stramandi secured her spot on the 2001 US National Diving Team and became the only Ivy-Leaguer on the team. Moreover, she was the only non-scholarship diver in the platform finals and is the only one to have earned a spot on the US team.

As a member of the national team, Stramandi will compete in numerous national and international diving competitions throughout the upcoming year.

She will begin her national tour with the FINA/USA Diving Grand Prix on May 10-13 at the Coral Springs Aquatic Center in Florida, where she will compete against divers from all over the world. In addition, she is scheduled to travel with the US National Team to Sweden, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Canada, China and Australia during the next several months for numerous international competitions.

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Not only does her spot on the national team mean the realization of her life-long dream, but it also sets the stage for another personal goal. As a member of the US team, she has already earned one out of two points towards qualifying for the next Olympic Diving Trials. In order to secure a spot at the Trials, she must earn one more point prior to the Olympic event, which she will have plenty of opportunity to do during her tour on the international diving circuit.