The University of Southern Indiana swimming and diving teams took on the University of Evansville Jan. 13 in an exhibition diving meet. During the match, three school records were broken. The men’s three-meter dive record was set in a second-round score of 271.88 by Nathan Deputy, freshman sport management major. Both the women’s three-meter and one-meter dive records were set with scores of 251.18 and 225.90 from Maranda Uttke, freshman pre-dental hygiene major.
“It’s kind of an honor, honestly,” Deputy said. “I mean, kind of the reason I came here is having Andy as a coach. He’s been my club coach for years, and he had known that it was gonna be such a new program and being able to put a little stamp on history, no matter how long or short. Or how long it’s gonna last. It was always one of those things where I was like, ‘I can leave a stamp, and I can have my history here and maybe bring my kids here one day and say look.’”
Uttke said she has been working hard to increase her score each meet and get her name on the board.
She said she loves the team atmosphere.
“The swim and dive team isn’t like one dive team and one swim team,” Uttke said. “It’s like a whole family, and I love that. Outside of practices, we hang out, not just the freshmen, not just the sophomores, but as a whole group, and I love it. Everyone’s so friendly.”
Deputy said the team is close.
“Every morning, we have to wake up super early, and everyone’s positive, everyone’s ready to go, and it’s always fun hanging out with the team, no matter how early or late,” Deputy said. “We always have a good time, having many McDonald’s runs and stuff like that.”
For preparation before dives, Deputy said he treats each dive individually and focuses on what is directly ahead instead of thinking about the overall performance.
Uttke also said adapting this mindset has helped her avoid unnecessary stress and pressure, allowing her to focus on the task at hand.
Deputy and Uttke said their motivation lies in competing with others and themselves individually to continue to get better.