Elizabeth Cotner/Collegian
Freshman Charlotte Wolfe had no prior diving experience when she started diving for Hillsdale.
Freshman Charlotte Wolfe dived into a huge challenge this season as the only member of Hillsdale’s diving program.
The program has had few divers in past years. Head Coach of the swim team, Mary Anne Gerzanick, said it is difficult to recruit divers because it is a specialized field of interest.
“Unless you are a diver or a gymnast, it is very hard to get people interested in diving,” Gerzanick said. “Whenever there is interest in that area, we try to accommodate it. Divers help Hillsdale’s swimming team earn more points at meets and put the team on a more equal level with other schools.”
Wolfe had no experience with diving prior to joining the program. However, she was involved in gymnastics for ten years, which sparked her interest in diving.
“I’ve always been interested in diving; I think it’s a beautiful sport.” Wolfe said. “I knew it would be easier to learn how to dive after being a gymnast. Both sports require a lot of the same body movements.”
Wolfe said although it was easy to get used to the body movements, it was difficult to build the courage to perform difficult dives.
“Diving is a very mental sport,” Wolfe said. “You have to take your mind completely out of your body and stay aware of where you are.”
Junior Jonathan Holmes has been diving since his freshman year in high school and said he assists Gerzanick in coaching Wolfe. He agrees diving is a very mentally taxing sport.
“The amount of practice and repetition required to make a diver ready for competitions can be overwhelming,” said Holmes. “There is a huge risk of hitting the water or the board in the wrong way.”
Wolfe has had her share of injuries while practicing new dives. She has bruised herself, jammed fingers, strained muscles and most recently, injured her shoulder.
However, the injuries have not discouraged Wolfe from her newfound passion.
“It’s just part of the learning process,” she said. “The injuries don’t matter when I nail a new dive. It’s rewarding because after days of hard work, I finally accomplish something I’ve never done before.”
Gerzanick said divers must constantly be aware of their bodies, not only to prevent injury, but also to make the dives look beautiful. Divers must practice how they approach the board, leap off of it and somersault and twist through the air.
“In competitions, divers’ looks are highly correlated with the scores they receive,” Gerzanick said. “It is a very aesthetic sport.”
Wolfe has competed in three meets this season. Her highest scores are a 144 on the 1 meter board and a 158.5 on the 3 meter board.
Holmes said Wolfe is competing remarkably well for a first-time diver.
“As far as I’m concerned, Charlotte is a diving prodigy,” Holmes said. “With no experience on the board and a few months of training, she already knows over 30 dives on both the 1 meter and 3 meter boards. She deserves a lot of credit and praise for what she has accomplished.”
Gerzanick is helping Wolfe work toward qualifying for the GLIAC conference finals Feb. 15-18 at Northern Michigan University.