UCLA divers refine techniques for NCAA Zone E Dive Championships

The UCLA dive team decided to keep it simple in its preparation for the NCAA Zone E Dive Championships this week.

With limited practice time between last week’s conference championship and the upcoming regional event, the Bruins focused on efficiency.

One way to do that, according to coach Tom Stebbins, is to refine technique rather than try to rework an entire routine.

“For us, we have to train through the conference meet in order for us to be good at zones as well as NCAAs,” Stebbins said. “We do not have a lot of training time available, so what we try to do is to get sharper throughout the week.”

One diver who is looking to continue the success that she achieved at the Pac-12 championship is junior Annika Lenz.

Lenz, who qualified for the championship rounds in all three of the major dive events, said she believes that the mental aspect is keeping her from fulfilling her full potential.

“When I am on the boards, sometimes I just need to think about the few things that need to be corrected in order to ensure I do a good dive,” Lenz said. “After that, as I approach, I just let everything go and let my body take over and do the work.”

Freshman Eloise Belanger also worked hard over the course of the season to train herself in the mental aspect of her diving. Belanger, who was disqualified earlier in the season for a mental lapse on the boards during a dual meet, is consistently putting in additional work after practice with Stebbins to overcome this block.

“When I get on the boards, I actually have too many things going through my head,” Belanger said. “Normally, I have to think of my dive before I get to the end, and then as I am getting ready to go, I have to let everything go and just do it because I know my body knows how to do what I am envisioning.”

In addition to Lenz and Belanger, the Bruins are also sending freshman Kat Friese, sophomores Maria Polyakova and Ciara Monahan and senior Montana Monahan to the regional championship.

Stebbins said he has seen improvement during recent practices – a positive sign at a time when many expect diving form to dip with the tired legs of a long season. The Bruin coach sees that as a positive indicator as to why his expectation of the team is so high and why he expects they will challenge their season bests.

“Annika and Eloise have been able to overcome the work that we have put in during the week and I’m excited to see them continue, to see them get a little sharper and a little bit better,” Stebbins said. “For me, I just want to see everyone achieve their potential and dive at their very best, which is what we have geared ourselves up to do.”