Freshman diver gets head start on season at AT&T National Diving Championships

UCLA’s Spieker Aquatics Center hosted the AT&T National Diving Championships Aug. 9-14.

The meet was an opportunity for top collegiate divers from across the nation to compete in a high-pressure environment before the school year and NCAA season begins.

Incoming freshman Emma Ivory-Ganja took advantage of the meet and got a tangible head start on her UCLA career.

Ivory-Ganja and her partner Kendall McClenney qualified for the finals in the 3-meter and platform synchronized events on the first day of competition.

Ivory-Ganja and her partner McClenney both attend the Woodlands Diving Academy, a private institution in Shenandoah, Texas, that produced 2000 Olympic gold medalist Laura Wilkinson along with numerous other divers that compete internationally.

Recent UCLA graduate Laura Winn also competed in the platform in her final outing as a Bruin.

Winn had a prolific career at UCLA and competed in the NCAA Championships at the end of her junior and senior years.

Winn finished fourth on tower at NCAA Zone E Championships last season and also received the team’s “Most Valuable Diver” award.

Winn advanced to the quarterfinals in platform last week but was unable to qualify for the subsequent round, missing the cut by a small margin of 10 points.

However, Ivory-Ganja found success where her teammate could not. The incoming freshman did not win any events outright, but she did not leave empty-handed either.

Ivory-Ganja qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials in four events and finished fourth in the synchronized platform finals.

The future freshman was not technically competing for UCLA at the event, but her soon-to-be coach Tom Stebbins was present at the competition and was also the director of the meet. Stebbins could not be reached for comment.

The team will kick off the season against UC Santa Barbara in October, followed by the Trojan Invitational at USC.

Compiled by Eric Peck, Bruin Sports senior staff.