Fredonia sent its first-ever diver, Kelly Sponholz, to NCAA Championships back in 2006. Now in 2015, 10 seasons after that first diver walked onto the national stage, four more Blue Devil divers are preparing for that same spotlight. Over the decade, Fredonia has won 28 out of 48 SUNYAC titles and sent 10 divers to NCAA Championships, eight of which were named All-American. On Thursday before practice the four divers and two coaches sat down to discuss the growth of Fredonia's diving program and dealing with the stress of national competition, which takes place March 18 - 21 in Shenandoah, Texas.
 

Ryan Maloney: Leading up to this article I did this little experiment where I go around and ask people what the best sports program is on this campus. Can you guess what people say?

Meghan Bartlett: Diving (laughing)

Arron Carlson: Soccer, or hockey?

Heather Colby: Basketball?

RM: People tend to say women's lacrosse right now, because they've been very successful. But when you take a look at the diving program, it's not even close with how good you guys have been.

Arthur Wang: I don't think that's news to them (everyone laughs).

RM: Honestly though, 60% of the SUNYAC Championships over the last 12 years have gone to Fredonia, including 95% on the women's side in the last ten. That's incredible. So I want to get your take on why the diving program is so good and coaches I want to turn to you first.

AW: The success of this program comes from (volunteer assistant coach) John Crawford who, ironically, never was a diver himself. A lot of the established routines that are built into the foundation of this program are things that he's learned. He's read a lot, and he's created a high intrinsic value for every diver who comes into this program. We look for recruits who have good, solid morals and who are talented. It's been built slowly but now any recruit who wants a chance to go to NCAA's has to make a visit to Fredonia before making a decision.

Ryan Fuller: Yeah, with our recruits we look for good moral characters and hard workers. I think that everyone is very determined and that has come through the program. Hard work and determination have been key.

RM: And I imagine you can't have this level of success without finding those talented divers, so divers, "why did come to Fredonia?"

MB: I was orginially at a Division I program, but I really wanted to come to a strong Division III program. I came to a camp here my senior year of high school and I remember working with Ryan, and I remember working with Crawford, and I loved the way they had everything set up. You went back to the basics and worked on small things like board work, which a lot of places don't do. The divers here are really strong too and you really push yourself. Heather is my strongest competition and we were battling the whole year. We love each other but we want to beat each other.

HC: Personally I wasn't that great in high school, but when I came here Crawford showed me around the campus. He actually showed me the pool last and I fell in love with the environment. It wasn't only how good the divers were but it was their attitudes towards me. I felt comfortable with everyone. We're weird, and we're fun, and that's why Fredonia was so welcoming to me, because I felt a friendship the first day that I came here.

RM: Now, Ryan, we hear the name Crawford being thrown around a lot but you've taken over the program now and were named SUNYAC Diving Coach of the Year in your first year (everyone cheers). Tell me how the transition has been for you.

RF: Well at first it was really different to be the coach. I was in their place only two years ago and it was different being on the deck instead of in the water. But it's been a

 smooth transition, I think all the divers have been really welcoming. I try to keep things pretty similar to what was done with me in previous years. The divers do all the hard work though. My getting Diving Coach of the Year was all their work. I just try to give them confidence because I knew they could all be great.

RM: Do any of the divers want to say anything about Ryan (all laugh).

AC: Yeah, we had an amazing coach in Crawford and he knew so much, but when Ryan came in he already had all that knowledge built up from Crawford. He had a very good transition, coaching the same way Crawford did and keeping us all positive. The biggest thing that I found with Ryan is that he's done this. He's been to nationals, and had struggled with the same hard dives that we're working on now. He helped us push through to be better overall divers.

RM: Now, most students are really excited right now to go on vacation for spring break but you're all getting ready to go to Texas to compete with the best divers in the country. What's that like to prepare for?

Jeff Matter: It's nerve-wracking a little bit. It's our last meet and the biggest one of our careers. We just try to get through practice though and have fun.

HC: It's no longer a whole-team experience, it's a singular diver experience. We're not just trying to go through the motions, but have fun with it too because we earned this. We want to enjoy ourselves because this is Nationals.

RM: I'm going to stick with you Heather because you were close to getting to Nationals for three years, and now you're there. What does that mean to you?

HC: My four years haven't quite gone as planned (laughs). I was out with an injury part of my freshman year and sophomore was a rough year mentally and physically so I ended up stepping away. I came back junior year with limited preparation. This year, I was out with an injury for a while but I did my best. Making it felt that much better because I literally tried as hard as I could. I feel mentally and personally accomplished because I pushed through more than I anticipated. I'm more proud of myself than I've ever been in my life.

RM: To the guys now: You both won the regional zone meet (in Geneseo) which is quite an accomplishment. It sometimes gets overlooked though because of the success of all the other divers. How difficult is it to get to this point?

 

AC: Going into that meet we're more prepared from doing well at SUNYAC's. We don't worry about chasing first place at Zones, but rather getting in a place where it will take us to nationals. It's a little bit less scary for us knowing that we're in a good position with our scores. It's a very hard meet to win, and winning it was great, but ultimately it's about getting to Nationals.

JM: Yeah, it's not easy at all. There are so few divers who get to go to nationals, only 24 from the entire country. It's the whole country and it's never easy to get there.

RM: Megan, you won both boards at SUNYAC's. I imagine if anyone had high expectations to do well next week it would be you. How do you deal with those expectations?

MB: Going into SUNYAC's I knew it was kind of on me because we wanted to make it 10 years in a row of winning the 3-meter. They wanted the whole decade of divers getting first place, and I didn't even realize that until I got there and someone told me. I was shaking, I was so scared. But going into my last dive I saw that I was going to win and rode that wave into one-meter. I think I push myself the most though. Even though my coaches want me up top, I'm the hardest on myself.

HC: Can I add to that? I think Megan thrives on competition. She freaks herself out but she does the best of the best when she has someone there to push her, whether it be me, or someone at another competition. When she has that person there, she'll go miles.

RM: I don't really think about that with diving. I normally see it as an individual sport.

HC: I think mentally she needs that because it really helps her thrive.

RM: And there has to be a lot of fear that goes with all this. I mean, I don't even want to get up on one of those things, let alone jump off it. How do you deal with the fear involved in all this? Heather, I'd particularly like to hear from you because of what you've been through this year (all laugh).

HC: I've always gone nuts over adrenaline and when we were in Florida this year I wrecked my neck from 33 feet (3 meter diving board). I went back up afterwards to take a picture and a wave of anxiety hit me. It was something I wasn't anticipating. The second I stepped up there...

MB: I remember you sat down on the board and you were just holding your head.

HC: My whole entire body was like, "Nope! Nuh Uh!" That was something I was never used to, being scared of heights. And Ryan would just not let me get away with it. He said he understood that I was going to be scared but that it would be baby steps. We took it jump by jump and I gradually got back into it and learned not to be afraid anymore. It was a surreal experience but I couldn't be happier that he didn't give up on me.

RM: And lastly, what are each of your goals for nationals?

JM: Top eight. If I can go top eight at nationals I'm happy. Winning would be cool, but I'm not necessarily expecting that.

HC: I haven't even thought of it until right now. I like to set realistic goals, but I'd be comfortable coming out in the top 15.

MB: I have two goals: one is top eight, and the other is to not trip and kill myself beforehand because I'm really clumsy (laughs).

AC: Going back this year I want to do better than last year (13th). My biggest goal this year though is to stay calm and have fun and not be so overbearing on myself. At this point we've all made it.

After the interview the divers went to start their pre-practice routines. Colby soon ran back to the interview area, clearly with something important to say:

HC: Can I say just one more thing? I wanted to say that I think another thing that really helps the divers is the support we get from our family and friends. They're always there either physically, emotionally, texting us, calling us, making sure that we do our best. Even if we're feeling bad they make sure we have no excuses. They're always encouraging us to do better.