I have been diving since I was in 6th grade. I was taught by a woman (Jennifer Gordon) who was an undergraduate student at the State University College at Oneonta. She was a Lifeguard who was my swimming instructor at the City Pools in Oneonta, NY. This woman was the backbone of everything that I learned on one-meter until this year at Springfield.
In my first year here at Springfield College under the coaching of Pete Avdoulos and Graduate Assist Sheila Neri, I learned a great deal. I re-learned one-meter and I also learned three-meter, which I thought was going to be an impossible task at the beginning of the year. Throughout the season I progressed on the three-meter board and actually ended up placing higher on three-meter than one-meter at Championships!
Although I had an excellent and productive year, I did have my ups and downs. As a Freshman, I had to endure the whole team getting in trouble, which ended up affecting my diving. By this I mean I didn't perform dives well, and I also crashed more times than I would've liked. My knee also creadted a problem for me at the beginning of the season, but I was put in therapy, given orthotics, and a new knee brace which helped me with my diving! On a positive note, at the beginning of the year, I thought I saw Jennifer Gordon (the woman who was instrumental in starting my diving career) from a distance. Well, I decided to see what I could find out, and it turns out that she is a Graduate Student here at Sprinfield College. I was able to see and speak with her for the first time in approximately 5 years!!! This gave me the drive to push through the hard times!
| Name | Year | Major | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrea Babcock | Junior | OT/Rehab | Wayland, MA |
| Kaitlin Doby | Freshman | Movement and Sports Studies | Syracuse, NY |
| Lacey Feduke | Freshman | Rehab | Poughkeepsie, NY |
| Sarah Healy | Freshman | Biology | Duxbury, MA |
| Alison Mellage | Senior | Physical Education | Union, NJ |
| Naomi Shencavitz | Freshman | Physician Assistant | Oneonta, NY |
| Sarah Tremblay | Freshman | Physical Education/EMS | Agawam, MA |
| Dan Bartholomew | Super Senior | Physical Therapy | Willits, CA |
| Mike Shaw | Freshman | Sports Biology | Westfield, MA |
Everyone had a very good year. Kaitlin wasn't able to dive with the team for very long because of an injury, but she will be back next year. Andrea Babcock and Sarah Healy joined the team part-way into the season. They were recruited athletes from the gymnastics team! Sara Tremblay and Mike Shaw have been diving for Pete on his club team, so they were familiar with him and his ways of going about things. This year was Lacey's first year back to diving in over 2 years, and she really did a great job! Alison won the National Championship in 2000 on three-meter, and was back for her final year of diving for Springfield College. Dan is in his 5th year at Springfield, his 4th year on the Diving Team, and was looking to make it to Nationals for the first time.
The season went by very fast and before anyone knew it, the year was over. This year was probably the most successful year for the Diving team. We had 4 athletes make it to Nationals! Alison and Lacey both made it for the women, and Dan and Mike both made it! Alison placed 4th on one-meter and 5th on three-meter, while Lacey placed 11th on one-meter and 14th on three-meter! On the Men's side, Dan placed 16th on one-meter and 15th on three-meter, while Mike placed 6th on one-meter and 3rd on three-meter! Mike also broke the one-meter school record at our League Championship Meet!!
Peter Avdoulos - Head Coach
Peter Avdoulos, is a 1985 Springfield College graduate, and is in his 18th year as the diving coach for both the men's and women's programs. He was named the NCAA Division III Diving Coach of the Year for the third time last winter after winning the award in 1996 and 1999. He has been selected the New England Diving Coach of the Year seven times since 1991.
Sheila Neiri - Graduate Assistant
Nieri is a 2001 graduate of Division I Marist (N.Y.) who was a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference finalist in both one and three-meter diving. She is in her first year as a Collegiate Assistant Coach.
