Princeton heads to NCAAs

The Princeton diving team knows what it's up against going into the NCAA Zone A Championships this weekend at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. — stiff competition from traditional diving powerhouses. Still, head diving coach Greg Gunn has faith in his team and knows his divers have the potential to qualify for the national tournament.

The nation is split into five different regions, or "zones," in which the championships are held. Princeton's region stretches south from Maine to Maryland, and west to Pennsylvania. The winner of the one-meter contest, the top two finishers in the three-meter contest and the winner of the platform all receive bids to compete in the national competition. The top eight divers from last year's meet also receive automatic bids.

This year, eight Tigers—six women and two men—qualified for the competition, although freshman Kate Giarra may be unable to attend because of an injury.

It seems the favorite for Princeton this year is junior Kent DeMond. Last year in the Zone A championships Kent won the platform competition and finished 14th at the national championship. Due to a persistent injury, however, DeMond may be at a disadvantage. A cast was removed in late January and only recently was he able to reenter the water. Gunn is still confident about DeMond's potential, though, and would not be surprised to see him qualify for the second year in a row.

"Kent is a unique person and he may very well qualify. He's definitely the favorite to some degree," Gunn said.

Sophomore Stewart Malcolm is looking to make his first national qualification this weekend in the platform, and Gunn feels he has a strong shot in the three-meter contest as well. Malcolm has posted a number of strong finishes on the season, and he has real potential to come away with a win.

On the women's side, the Tigers are led by junior Michelle DeMond and freshman Peggy Kearns. DeMond, Kent's sister, and Kearns have led Princeton to a number of victories this year and should be leaders at the Annapolis meet.

"They're both in contention to qualify," Gunn said. "They have a real chance. That's a certainty."

Much of the competition is going to come down to the divers fielded by other teams. With strong teams from scholarship schools, such as Penn State, Rutgers, Syracuse and Pittsburgh, the level of competition will definitely be high.

"The favorites are probably the divers from Pitt for the women and those from Penn St. for the men," Gunn said.

These schools allow athletic scholarships, which gives them a definite advantage, but it hasn't stopped the Tigers from coming away with the win in the past.

Once the Tigers arrive in Annapolis on Friday, they will begin to prepare for the meet by doing what they always do. Gunn said there will be no major changes in the lineup; the Tigers are going to execute their dives as they always have.

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Princeton will, however, have to become acclimated to the conditions posed by the unfamiliar pool. Gunn and his divers will identify features of the pool that could potentially affect the dives and make adjustments accordingly. A dive can be influenced by the smallest of details, and at this level of competition, the Tigers can't afford mistakes.

Overall the Orange and Black can boast a strong group of divers, and if they can execute their dives as they know they can, Princeton may be able to make waves at the national contest as well.

"I feel pretty confident in our group," Gunn said. "We've got a good group going."