by Brandon Call
Daily Lobo
Carrie Quinn is not satisfied with last season.
Last year, Quinn placed fourth on the 1-meter springboard and eighth on the 3-meter springboard at the Mountain West Conference Championships in Oklahoma City.
This season, UNM's junior diver is training hard to improve on both finishes.
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Quinn began developing her diving skills in her hometown of San Clemente, Calif., at the age of 7. While in high school, she lettered all four years in diving at Laguna Hills High School and was named an All-American in 2003.
"I've been diving for 14 years now," she said. "It seems like I've been doing it forever."
Quinn not only has the experience, but she also has enthusiasm for the sport.
"I love diving," Quinn said. "It's my passion."
Quinn also has the work ethic necessary to succeed in diving.
"It's been a lot of training ever since I was little," she said. "I train hard two times a day doing a lot of dry-land work, a lot of ab workouts, legs and trampoline work."
UNM diving coach Abel Sanchez said Quinn is a powerful diver.
"She is compact, very strong and quick, so that helps her when she dives," Sanchez said.
Quinn excels not only on the diving boards, but also in the classroom.
Quinn has been honored on the MWC All-Academic team the past two seasons.
As an education major, Quinn wants to become a second-grade teacher. Quinn begins student teaching Tuesday, she said.
This weekend, Quinn proved she is one of the top divers in
the MWC.
On Friday, Quinn won the 1- and 3-meter springboards over TCU opponents with scores of 342.45 and 273.91, respectively.
Quinn also edged out Utah's Kelsey Patterson for a win on the 1-meter springboard Saturday, 273.00 to 272.25.
"Defeating Kelsey Patterson on the 1-meter is a big confidence boost for Carrie," Sanchez said. "If Carrie can just relax and have fun at conference, I think she has a shot at winning the 1-meter."
However, the training does not end with these meets.
"We have a few things to work on for conference, which is still four weeks away," he said. "Overall, I'm very proud of her."
