Swimming and diving is much like mythology.
Half the events that comprise the sport - especially diving - seem unimaginably impossible, almost dream-like. Seeing them executed to precision is even more baffling.
Divers must be as eloquent as a swan but have the grit and fearlessness of a great white shark.
While aquaphobia - the fear of water - likely isn't a qualm for swimmers, divers must deal with acrophobia - the fear of heights.
"Diving is very scary," UNM freshman diver Gabby Erickson said. "Mentally, physically, it takes a toll."
Fittingly, the last bounce before a diver springs off the board is called a hurdle.
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Erickson said that of all the parts that comprise a diver's routine, that's the biggest one.
"Standing on the board trying to make yourself go," she said. "I'm always talking to myself. 'Just go, Gabby. Go. Go.'"
Reasonably, it can be compared to bungee jumping - minus the bungee, of course.
Visualization, Erickson said, is key.
"Even in your head when you're picturing it, you imagine yourself smacking the (board)," she said.
Then again, when entering an aquatic frame of mind, sometimes it's best for the mind to be like water - clear of any and all mental images, Erickson said. Shesaid that's the surest way to ensure you don't psych yourself out.
"Mostly I'm thinking, 'Good hurdle, good hurdle, good hurdle, strong throw and rip the entry.' It's usually really repetitive things."
In their most recent event Jan. 17, the Lobos lost to Utah 155.5-87.5 and stand at 2-6 overall and 1-5 in the Mountain West Conference. Still, that didn't detract from UNM having some good individual performances. Aubrey Bush collected a second-place finish in the three-meter dive, finishing with a score of 275.03. Erickson, only a few slots behind Bush, came in seventh with 225.3. In the one-meter dive, Bush placed third while Erickson slipped into a fourth-place finish.
"It's not unreasonable to think that one of these girls could take conference," diving coach Abel Sanchez said. "They're talented. They just have to believe they can do it."
Mind over matter - or water - Sanchez said. He said diving is all about mind-set.
"It's everything in diving," he said. "It's definitely a mind sport. And it's different for all of them. As long as we keep reinforcing the good things they do, as long as they think they're OK, then they'll start doing better."
While Bush was making waves at Sandia High's pool, the swimming team was making some noise of its own at the Rio Rancho Aquatic
Center. There, the Lobos captured the top three spots in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Maria Dudley finished first in 10:48.53, while
Jennifer Burgess (10:51.42) and Bridget O'Hara (10:59.10) rounded out the top three.
Dudley, too, placed second in the 500-yard freestyle (5:19.66).
Swimming and Diving vs. TCU
Swimming: West Mesa High School
Diving: Sandia High School
Friday
Swimming at 11 a.m.; Diving at noon
