While most of UChicago was braving the cold and preparing for the upcoming onslaught of finals, the UChicago diving team was competing in the NCAA DIII Regional Championships. It was a historic performance for the team in the three-meter dive. The Maroons were able to claim four of the top five spots and the top three spots overall. Agnes Lo, a third-year who also won the one-meter on Friday, absolutely smoked the field, winning by 39 points. This was a bigger gap than the difference between second and fifth. Lo’s two regional championships were the first championships since the NCAA moved to the Zone format for diving. It seems likely with that dominating performance that all four divers (Lo, first-years Elizabeth Cron and Alice Saparov, and fourth-year Anna Girlich) will qualify for nationals. It would be by far the most divers that the women’s team has ever sent to the national championships, with the previous high being a grand total of one. The trajectory is nothing but up for these divers.

Lo thinks that the difference that provided the Maroons with the additional boost was the overall closeness of the team: “Our cheering and overall enthusiasm were unmatched by any other team on deck, and even when we messed up on some dives, our teammates were right there to keep the atmosphere energized and positive. By the end of the meet, we made our presence known not just because of our results, but because of our loud support for each other and even for divers on other teams. For us, having fun is always the priority in competitions.” It is clearly a strategy that is working, as these divers are on fire during the most important part of the season.