It’s battle of the boards this weekend atthe Michael Kasser Pool in Hillenbrand Aquatic Center, where the UA diving squad will take on divers hailing from all parts of the country in the third annual Wildcat Diving Invite.
The Arizona diving program has hosted the invitational since 2008, the year the Michael Kasser Pool opened. A total of 88 divers from 18 different schools will compete Friday through Sunday.
Along with Arizona, a few of the confirmed competitors are Arizona State, Southern California and Stanford, who are also considered to be the toughest contenders.
“”A lot of teams are coming from the Pac-10, and it has a very strong contingent of divers,”” said Arizona diver Ainsley Oliver. “”USC is a really strong team, ASU is, and Stanford has a really strong squa.””
The majority of teams arrived yesterday in order to get acclimated to the outdoor pool. For Arizona, being in its home pool could be an advantage. Every pool has a different feel, Oliver said. Oliver also noted that there are a record number of female divers this year, with USC being the strongest.
“”They have a really strong squad, I can say that they’re not looking as strong as they normally are, but it still is kind of preseason,”” Oliver said. “”We’ve really stepped up our game and have been on their heels, so hopefully we can jump past them this weekend.””
Despite the Trojans’ not being at the top of their game, they still defeated the Wildcats’ last week, but according to Oliver, the scores were very close.
Oliver did however get her first win of the season at UCLA last weekend in the 3-meter event. She’s hoping to carry over that momentum.
“”I just hope to maintain consistency,”” Oliver said. “”That’s kind of the main goal of the game, if you’re lining your head and staying consistent, you can be in the top. I’ve been proving I can do that the past couple weekends, so hopefully I can maintain that and even score a little better.””
Oliver, along with Samantha Pickens, Alexa Wollach, Ashley Herrera, David Austin and Sean Clark are representing Arizona this weekend.
