BROOKE ATKINS
Assistant Social Media Manager
Not only did the members of the men and women’s diving teams get a quick escape from the snow, they are all coming home having accomplished something on their recent trip to San Antonio, Texas.
The two-day competition was held at Trinity University.
On the first night of the meet, Friday, juniors Meghan Bartlett and Arron Carlson both walked away with first place finishes.
“It felt awesome placing first. It is good to see where I am at. Recently I haven’t been diving my best due to a shoulder injury,” said Bartlett.
Bartlett clenched first on the 1-meter board with a score of 467.50 and Carlson on the 3-meter at 560.85. This was also a personal best for Carlson in an 11-dive format.
“My goal for this weekend was to go in and just have a good set of dives. I wanted to stay consistent and hit my easier dives that I usually struggle with. I definitely accomplished this,” said Carlson.
Fredonia divers also clenched the rest of the top four spots.
Senior Rafael Santiago finished second at 495.05. Sophomore Phil Tubbs placed third with a score of 430.20 and junior Jacob Storms fourth with 408.80.
With the scores Carlson and Santiago finished with, they were able to post NCAA regional-qualifying scores.
Representing the women freshman Julie Coomer placed fifth in the 1-meter board scoring 430.75. Coomer score was also NCAA regional-qualifying.
Another accomplished conquered on this trip on only the first day was lifetime best for Tubbs and Coomer.
Starting off Saturday, Carlson put his name in the Fredonia record books for diving by breaking the school record in the 1-meter springboard against Trinity University.
Carlson’s score was 529.95, which beat out Ryan Fuller’s previous score of 528.90, who is the current diving coach. This score is an improvement of his personal-best in the 2015 SUNYAC championships with a score of 502.95.
After setting a personal best Carlson said, “It was encouraging to see my scores. I knew I had [dived] well, but I had no idea it was going to be a personal best.”
With a score of 512.50, Santiago finished second and close behind him was Tubbs in third with 470.70. Storms took fourth at 420.15.
Carlson, Santiago and Tubbs scores were all NCAA qualifying.
In the 3-meter springboard, Bartlett finished third with 482.65 and junior Samantha Kowalewski in fourth with 449.40.
This trip is a good time for the divers to finish out the season strong and see where they are compared to the beginning of the year.
“My favorite part of this trip is getting to know trinity better and have their coaches teach us too,” said Bartlett, who called it “refreshing” to get another point of view. She also mentioned how proud she of all the female divers for qualifying.
To finish the women off, Coomer placed seventh with 413.45 points.
All three women had NCAA qualifying scores.
As this season is coming to a quick end, Carlson talked about what he is looking forward to the most.
“I am looking forward to the championships and regional qualifiers. It is going to be a tough field but if I stay consistent and relaxed I have good feelings,” he said. “I have improved a lot this year, but I will continue to improve.”
Bartlett’s goals for the end of the year include improving on the basics, gaining more confidence and hoping to do as good as she did last year at SUNYACS.
The Blue Devils swimming and diving teams will come back together for an away meet this Saturday at Brockport at 1 p.m.