Sophomore Macy Schmidtgall, IWU’s only women’s diver, won the 1-meter national title, making her a two-time national champion.
“In prelims, I did pretty bad on one meter, and I got third. I was like, okay, I have to do well tonight,” Schmidtgall said.
Schmidtgall had her supporters and former swim coach there to help her stay focused on her dives rather than her opponents or the scores.
“I didn’t watch people dive. I focused on what I was doing, pictured stuff in my head before I went instead of just watching everyone else, and then I hit every single one of mine,” Schmidtgall said.
After seeing the final scores, Schmidtgall was shocked.
“The team was very happy, and my coach said it was the best meet of my life, so that felt good,” Schmidtgall said.
Wildcats head swim and dive coach Stephen Wolcott recalled there being an eruption of congratulations once the scores were announced.
“I have greatly appreciated her drive,” Wolcott said.
Schmidtgall has a uniqueness to this accomplishment in that she is IWU’s only diver on both the men’s and the women’s side.
“Finally, this one year of being by myself really paid off,” Schmidtgall said.
Schmidtgall practiced on her own most days and would have to drive to another facility to train in the three-meter dive.
“There has to be a lot of flexibility, and she has been able to maneuver the entire situation in such a way that she came back again as a national champion,” Wolcott said.
In addition to Schmidtgall’s national championship, the women’s swim and dive team finished the season ranked tenth in the nation.
