Colorado State University Athletics
Divers Zoned in for Postseason
3/6/2020 2:00:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving, RamWire
Williams, Holland riding positives heading into Zone E meet
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Skylar Williams has extended each of her past diving seasons at Colorado State, but this time around has a few added twists.
Mind you, they're good.
As the junior heads to the NCAA Zone E meet March 9-11 in Federal Way, Wash., she'll do so with a full schedule for the first time, having qualified on both the 1- and 3-meter springboards, as well as the platform. For the second time, she'll also have a teammate involved, with Rachel Holland qualifying for 3-meter for the first time.
There's one other item not to be overlooked: Williams heads to the meet as a school record holder. Times two. Naturally, she's never progressed to zones with the kind of rush she's experiencing after establishing the school marks in both the 1-meter (3.13.15) and the platform (271.50).
"It's really exciting and makes me feel really proud of myself, now that I've fulfilled these goals," said Williams, who was the Mountain West runner-up on the 1-meter. "But I'm honestly trying not to think of it and give myself too high of expectations. I just want to go in there diving the way I know I can, and whatever comes from that comes from that."
Holland, as a newcomer to the zones, is trying to take the same low-key approach to the meet. Such was not the case when she hit the qualifying standard on the 3-meter board, achieving a goal she had been chasing her entire career, one she'd almost bagged for the season.
Conference is hard, with more judges, folks who are paid to be sticklers for detail. Holland, however, was not derailed on the second day of competing, scoring a 294.10 in the preliminaries, 287.0 in the B final.
"I probably had the meet of my life there. It was the best set of six dives I've ever strung together," Holland said. "To be able to look up to the scoreboard and see that, I just lit up. I looked up at (coach) Chris Bergere, and he was jumping on the pool deck, and I looked up at my dad, and he was tearing up.
"I think it's just giving me the momentum into practice that I can do this, and I have the potential to do really well. It helped me find the excitement for diving again. Sometimes we get in the monotony of just doing practices, but to be able to find that excitement again and go into it and show that excitement, that's probably super helpful going into the meet."
One thing they both share – other than being classmates and the elder statesmen of the diving team – is adjusting to Bergere in his first year. Change at the top is not new in itself, as they've had three diving coaches at CSU in as many campaigns. In Bergere, they have a leader who is confident in the program he's built on deck more than three decades, and he took the time to put them all on the same path.
Naturally, all of the Rams' divers had questions, but Bergere quickly answered them and went to work learning and understanding their nuances. In short order, he determined knew both juniors had the potential to qualify for zones, and to see it achieved is rewarding.
"Rachel and Skylar, they both checked all of their boxes this year," Bergere said. "I mean, for Skylar coming back from a successful Mountain West last year, it's hard to repeat. Every year can be different, but she really exceeded the expectations. I mean, she almost won (the 1-meter). Then Rachel, to be on at the hardest meet, the conference championships and qualifying for zones, all of those boxes have been checked off."
None of them are making any more boxes. That doesn't mean there aren't hopes, and if past performances can be repeated and even improved slightly, there's a chance.
At the NCAA Zone E meet, the top 12 finishers on 1-meter advance to the NCAA Championships March 18-21 in Athens, Ga., while the top nine do for 3-meter and platform. Each zone is allowed five automatic women's qualifiers, with the remaining spots dictated by the number of top-16 finishers from the zone at the prior NCAA Championships. Zone E consists of performers from the eastern borders of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana and moving to the Pacific Ocean.
Of the 69 women qualifiers, exactly one third – 23 – are qualified on all three boards.
"I'd just like to see them dive well and be competitive," Bergere said. "Where they end up, where ever the chips end up … If they dive well and don't qualify, so be it. I'm telling you, if Skylar dives the way she did -- which is asking a lot, but she's capable ... If she dives 1-meter at Zones like she did at conference, she'll have a good shot."
He said the key is for both of them to enjoy the moment, relax and let their ability take over. Having competed at zones with a teammate and by herself, Williams knows the former route is much preferable in creating a relaxed and comfortable setting.
Being a rookie, Holland is glad the teammate who has pushed her, the one she's trying to emulate, is there to show her the ropes. Williams pointed out leaving a diver alone with their thoughts is not always productive, so she's more than happy to have Holland on the trip.
"Going with a teammate just makes it more fun and more relaxed," she said. "Rachel and I are really close; we're the only two in our class on the dive team, so to be able to go together is a really exciting experience for both of us."
There will be one competition each day, for both men and women, starting with 1-meter, then 3-meter and platform on the following days.
Mind you, they're good.
As the junior heads to the NCAA Zone E meet March 9-11 in Federal Way, Wash., she'll do so with a full schedule for the first time, having qualified on both the 1- and 3-meter springboards, as well as the platform. For the second time, she'll also have a teammate involved, with Rachel Holland qualifying for 3-meter for the first time.
There's one other item not to be overlooked: Williams heads to the meet as a school record holder. Times two. Naturally, she's never progressed to zones with the kind of rush she's experiencing after establishing the school marks in both the 1-meter (3.13.15) and the platform (271.50).
"It's really exciting and makes me feel really proud of myself, now that I've fulfilled these goals," said Williams, who was the Mountain West runner-up on the 1-meter. "But I'm honestly trying not to think of it and give myself too high of expectations. I just want to go in there diving the way I know I can, and whatever comes from that comes from that."
Holland, as a newcomer to the zones, is trying to take the same low-key approach to the meet. Such was not the case when she hit the qualifying standard on the 3-meter board, achieving a goal she had been chasing her entire career, one she'd almost bagged for the season.
Conference is hard, with more judges, folks who are paid to be sticklers for detail. Holland, however, was not derailed on the second day of competing, scoring a 294.10 in the preliminaries, 287.0 in the B final.
"I probably had the meet of my life there. It was the best set of six dives I've ever strung together," Holland said. "To be able to look up to the scoreboard and see that, I just lit up. I looked up at (coach) Chris Bergere, and he was jumping on the pool deck, and I looked up at my dad, and he was tearing up.
"I think it's just giving me the momentum into practice that I can do this, and I have the potential to do really well. It helped me find the excitement for diving again. Sometimes we get in the monotony of just doing practices, but to be able to find that excitement again and go into it and show that excitement, that's probably super helpful going into the meet."
One thing they both share – other than being classmates and the elder statesmen of the diving team – is adjusting to Bergere in his first year. Change at the top is not new in itself, as they've had three diving coaches at CSU in as many campaigns. In Bergere, they have a leader who is confident in the program he's built on deck more than three decades, and he took the time to put them all on the same path.
Naturally, all of the Rams' divers had questions, but Bergere quickly answered them and went to work learning and understanding their nuances. In short order, he determined knew both juniors had the potential to qualify for zones, and to see it achieved is rewarding.
"Rachel and Skylar, they both checked all of their boxes this year," Bergere said. "I mean, for Skylar coming back from a successful Mountain West last year, it's hard to repeat. Every year can be different, but she really exceeded the expectations. I mean, she almost won (the 1-meter). Then Rachel, to be on at the hardest meet, the conference championships and qualifying for zones, all of those boxes have been checked off."
None of them are making any more boxes. That doesn't mean there aren't hopes, and if past performances can be repeated and even improved slightly, there's a chance.
At the NCAA Zone E meet, the top 12 finishers on 1-meter advance to the NCAA Championships March 18-21 in Athens, Ga., while the top nine do for 3-meter and platform. Each zone is allowed five automatic women's qualifiers, with the remaining spots dictated by the number of top-16 finishers from the zone at the prior NCAA Championships. Zone E consists of performers from the eastern borders of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana and moving to the Pacific Ocean.
Of the 69 women qualifiers, exactly one third – 23 – are qualified on all three boards.
"I'd just like to see them dive well and be competitive," Bergere said. "Where they end up, where ever the chips end up … If they dive well and don't qualify, so be it. I'm telling you, if Skylar dives the way she did -- which is asking a lot, but she's capable ... If she dives 1-meter at Zones like she did at conference, she'll have a good shot."
He said the key is for both of them to enjoy the moment, relax and let their ability take over. Having competed at zones with a teammate and by herself, Williams knows the former route is much preferable in creating a relaxed and comfortable setting.
Being a rookie, Holland is glad the teammate who has pushed her, the one she's trying to emulate, is there to show her the ropes. Williams pointed out leaving a diver alone with their thoughts is not always productive, so she's more than happy to have Holland on the trip.
"Going with a teammate just makes it more fun and more relaxed," she said. "Rachel and I are really close; we're the only two in our class on the dive team, so to be able to go together is a really exciting experience for both of us."
There will be one competition each day, for both men and women, starting with 1-meter, then 3-meter and platform on the following days.
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