Diving team off to a flying start
By Taylor Aquino
Nov. 7, 2011 1:07 a.m.
UCLA has a new prospect on the roster who may bring the team new bling in the near future.
Freshman diver Emma Ivory-Ganja has already snatched a spot in the upcoming Olympic Trials.
She executed the 3-meter individual and synchronized dives as well as the individual and synchronized platform dives with scores high enough to propel her to more daunting levels of competition.
Judging from her success at the national level, the freshman is showing considerable skill.
“I think she’s got enormous potential,” diving coach Tom Stebbins said. “As she gets stronger and as she grows within what we’re trying to do with her, she’s going to be able to do the bigger dives.
“Mentally she’s much farther down that road than a normal freshman would be.”
The UCLA women’s diving team competed at the Trojan Invitational at USC Friday and Saturday in their first conference action of the season.
Ivory-Ganja placed second on the 3-meter dive on day two of the weekend meet.
The remainder of the team, which includes junior Maggy Boyd and sophomore Haley McNamara, also exhibited potential for the rest of the season.
“The first day was good,” Ivory-Ganja said. “It was a new experience, and it went well. The team did a great job.”
Along with placing second on the 3-meter dive, Ivory-Ganja finished fourth on the 1-meter dive and sixth on the tower dive on day one.
Boyd placed 11th on both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives, and McNamara placed 13th on the 3-meter dive in the preliminary round.
McNamara has been hindered by a combination of shoulder and back problems; however, she is recovering and happy with her weekend performance.
“The whole weekend (was) a growing process. … I was actually out of practice for seven months,” McNamara said. “I’m happy the work that I did because I know I’m headed in the right direction.”
As for the rest of the season, the team is optimistic about future competitions.
“My goals up until March are to execute my dives well at all the meets and ultimately qualify for the NCAA Championship in March,” Ivory-Ganja said.
At the UC Santa Barbara meet last month, both Ivory-Ganja and sophomore Paulina Guzman qualified for the NCAA Zone E Championships.
Guzman, who is battling a stomach illness, and redshirt sophomore Michelle Vale, who will not be competing until January because of a shoulder surgery, did not dive this weekend.
Guzman should be able to continue practicing with the team soon, and Vale’s recovery time ends in January. A completed roster will aid the team as they pursue spots at the NCAA Championship which will take place in Auburn, Ala.
“It’s early in the year, but we all show a high amount of potential and success for the rest of the year,” Boyd said. “We’re at a really good starting point for the beginning of the season.”
