By Jeremy Castro
Sports Assignment Editor
The St. Bonaventure men’s and women’s diving teams are nearing the crescendo of their season as the Atlantic 10 tournament draws near.
As what has come as a welcomed surprise, the success of the team has had a lot to do with the three freshman divers on the squad.
Anna Campos, Michael Bruno and Riley Parker have all been performing at a high level, something that has not gone unnoticed by their head coach.
“I think all the freshmen have done a great job so far,” said head diving coach Stephanie Fleming.
Fleming, who returned to St. Bonaventure this year to take over the role, has been impressed with how the three have adapted to their environment.
“The adjustment for college is a big one for anyone, athlete or not,” Fleming said. “You are in a new environment with new people and have to learn to adapt to new situations. And we don’t make it any easier on them; training 15 to 20 hours a week, getting up at 6 a.m. four times a week to go to practice and then come back for a second practice in the afternoon. But they have all stepped up and have proven that they are each a great asset to this team.”
Anna Campos, of Toledo, Ohio, has had to deal with her own share of adversity to get to this point of her season.
“My biggest adjustment was that I had a lot to work on,” Campos said. “I was out for a month, which affected my training. Once I got back in, [I had] a lot of effort to catch up.”
Fleming recognizes what Campos had to endure for her to make it back in the pool. This perseverance has already led Campos to personal success this season.
“She [Campos] persevered and came back strong, placing first on the 1-meter board in her first-ever college meet; you cannot ask for anything better than that,” Fleming said.
“Last weekend Anna qualified for the NCAA Diving Zone Championships; the first female diver at Bona’s to do so in at least 10 years.”
Michael Bruno, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is the only male diver on the team. Despite this, he has also adapted well to college diving.
“I am loving college practices,” Bruno said. “Having specific lifts and exercises that focus on weaker skills has been a huge help in improving my diving performances. I have made a lot of of progress when it comes to my consistency with each dive, even ones [that] I have learned in the last few weeks.”
Fleming reiterated the progress that Bruno has made and what kind of diver he can be going forward.
“Michael has made so much progress this year,” Fleming said. “He is learning an entire 3-meter list as well as learning a bunch of new dives on 1-meter. He has so much determination and grit. He is just getting started, and the sky is the limit with his diving.”
Riley Parker, of Oakwood, Ohio, has already achieved individual success this season, claiming first place on the 3-meter dive at Canisius College and first on the 1-meter and 3-meter dive at Central Connecticut State University.
“My season so far has gone pretty well,” Parker said. “It got off to a good start, which set me up for the rest of the season to work on technique so I can be consistent in meets and practice.
Fleming described how Parker has been this year as well as what we can expect from her in the future.
“She [Parker] has been really consistent at meets throughout the year,” Fleming said. “She is already a fantastic diver, but she has got so much untapped potential.”
Parker has also been able to improve on some things outside of the pool that will help her continue to get better.
“Time management is definitely a task I have become better at through the fall semester and into the spring,” Parker said.
Earlier this season, Campos and Parker were both named Atlantic 10 rookies of the week.
For these three, and the rest of the diving team, the Atlantic 10 tournament is right around the corner.
“Diving is a tough sport to guess expectations,” Fleming said. “On any given day, anyone can win, but ultimately, I tell the freshman that there are not any expectations on them. This is about them gaining experience and taking it one dive at a time and being as consistent as possible.”
castroja17@bonaventure.edu
