Colorado State University Athletics
Wednesday, March 11
Federal Way, Wash.
All Day
Colorado State
vs
NCAA Zone Diving Championships
Williams Reaches Platform Final as Zones Conclude
3/11/2020 4:45:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Record-setting junior reached two finals
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – If there were any questions remaining after the Mountain West Championships, Skylar Williams answered them.
The junior put together one of the most impressive diving seasons in program history, capped by reaching a pair of finals at the NCAA Zone E Championships held in Federal Way, Wash., this week. The platform on Wednesday concluded the three-day event, with Williams reaching the final and placing 18th overall with a score of 418.60.
Earlier in the week, she reached the finals on the 1-meter springboard, placing 13th and missing an NCAA berth by one spot. She also competed on the 3-meter springboard Tuesday. This comes after she broke the school records in the 1-meter (313.15) and the platform (271.50) at the conference meet.
The results leave a lot for Williams to digest over the offseason, but she walks away from the campaign feeling strong about her direction.
"I'm really proud of myself overall with the season," Williams said. "I definitely see room for improvement and what I can bring to the team next year, as well, being a senior. I'm really proud and I'm really excited. I'm looking forward to accomplishing even more that I didn't get to this year."
Williams came out of the platform preliminaries in 14th (the top 18 make the cut), with a score of 54.60 on her third dive of the day catapulting her into the top 10 briefly. Her third dive of the finals was also her best (49.00), opening the final round with a score of 50.40. Her only setback came on a handstand on the fourth dive of the final round, where she was called for a "balk", meaning when she went up to her handstand, she came back down to her feet to reset, leading to an automatic 2-point deduction from each judge. Otherwise, CSU diving coach Chris Bergere said it was a better dive than the first round, when she scored a 40.10.
Moby Pool does not have a platform to practice on, so the results are more than encouraging as Williams has found success anyway by relying on her experiences from high school. Her refresher course comes with the brief moment of practice prior to competition.
"Anytime we get to use the platform, that's really a valuable time for us," she said. "When I go into platform, it's mainly about the start and getting in the tops (height) you need in. We practice that a lot in dryland, and when we're doing that in dryland practices, I definitely picture myself on a platform or a tower, always thinking about it and being mentally there. Being mentally ready is just as important as being able to physically run through the dive as well."
Bergere, in his first year, found nothing but positives from Williams, as well as fellow junior Rachel Holland, who competed the first two days.
For Holland, it was her first trip to Zones. This was the second trip for Williams, but the first time competing on all three boards and her first two finals reached. He sees nothing but better days ahead with a new foundation.
"Absolutely. I think next year, we have a training plan, they're used to me and I'm used to them," Bergere said. "I think I've built a trust with them. I think they also want to leave a legacy for the other kids that are going to be coming along that we work hard at CSU, we want to go to nationals, things like that. With Skylar and Rachel working hard and being determined and trying to set the groundwork for future generations, I think it's happening."
The only change will be this: Williams will be chasing her own results mostly, not those of divers from the past. Then again, for someone who calls herself "intrinsically motivated," nothing is actually altered.
The junior put together one of the most impressive diving seasons in program history, capped by reaching a pair of finals at the NCAA Zone E Championships held in Federal Way, Wash., this week. The platform on Wednesday concluded the three-day event, with Williams reaching the final and placing 18th overall with a score of 418.60.
Earlier in the week, she reached the finals on the 1-meter springboard, placing 13th and missing an NCAA berth by one spot. She also competed on the 3-meter springboard Tuesday. This comes after she broke the school records in the 1-meter (313.15) and the platform (271.50) at the conference meet.
The results leave a lot for Williams to digest over the offseason, but she walks away from the campaign feeling strong about her direction.
"I'm really proud of myself overall with the season," Williams said. "I definitely see room for improvement and what I can bring to the team next year, as well, being a senior. I'm really proud and I'm really excited. I'm looking forward to accomplishing even more that I didn't get to this year."
Williams came out of the platform preliminaries in 14th (the top 18 make the cut), with a score of 54.60 on her third dive of the day catapulting her into the top 10 briefly. Her third dive of the finals was also her best (49.00), opening the final round with a score of 50.40. Her only setback came on a handstand on the fourth dive of the final round, where she was called for a "balk", meaning when she went up to her handstand, she came back down to her feet to reset, leading to an automatic 2-point deduction from each judge. Otherwise, CSU diving coach Chris Bergere said it was a better dive than the first round, when she scored a 40.10.
Moby Pool does not have a platform to practice on, so the results are more than encouraging as Williams has found success anyway by relying on her experiences from high school. Her refresher course comes with the brief moment of practice prior to competition.
"Anytime we get to use the platform, that's really a valuable time for us," she said. "When I go into platform, it's mainly about the start and getting in the tops (height) you need in. We practice that a lot in dryland, and when we're doing that in dryland practices, I definitely picture myself on a platform or a tower, always thinking about it and being mentally there. Being mentally ready is just as important as being able to physically run through the dive as well."
Bergere, in his first year, found nothing but positives from Williams, as well as fellow junior Rachel Holland, who competed the first two days.
For Holland, it was her first trip to Zones. This was the second trip for Williams, but the first time competing on all three boards and her first two finals reached. He sees nothing but better days ahead with a new foundation.
"Absolutely. I think next year, we have a training plan, they're used to me and I'm used to them," Bergere said. "I think I've built a trust with them. I think they also want to leave a legacy for the other kids that are going to be coming along that we work hard at CSU, we want to go to nationals, things like that. With Skylar and Rachel working hard and being determined and trying to set the groundwork for future generations, I think it's happening."
The only change will be this: Williams will be chasing her own results mostly, not those of divers from the past. Then again, for someone who calls herself "intrinsically motivated," nothing is actually altered.
- CSURams.com -
Players Mentioned
DIVE
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
DIVE
/ Women's Swimming & DivingCSU Swim & Dive: 2025-26 Preseason Press Conference
Monday, September 29
21-22 Swimming Schedule Video
Monday, August 16
Colorado State Swim & Dive: Erin Popovich Speaks To Team About Confidence
Monday, November 18
Colorado State Swimming: Erin Popovich Visit
Monday, November 18