Princeton University Athletics
NO SPLASH
June 16, 2000 | General
Erin Lutz switched from gymnastics to diving and has become an All-America at Princeton. Why?
Concerned and nearly panic stricken over her then nine-year-old daughter's pending growth spurt, Susan Lutz carefully weighed her options like any caring mother would do. Either take the chance that little Erin, an excellent gymnast who started tumbling when she was six, wouldn't sprout to become a giant or alleviate her worst fears altogether by introducing her only child to a sport that didn't discriminate against her genes.
"I don't know what she was thinking," jokes Erin. "Gymnasts are usually small, and I was pretty tall for my age. I think she thought I would be devastated if I didn't have another sport to play. She panicked."
While Lutz's growth spurt never really materialized (she stands about 5' 5" these days), she is thankful that mom overreacted a bit and helped her change gears from gymnastics to, of all sports, diving.
A native of nearby Hopewell, Lutz has been flipping, twisting and hurling herself off diving boards in and around Princeton for more than a decade. The 20-year-old junior has tried not to make a splash since arriving at Princeton, which is good for a sport that rewards those who can plunge headfirst into water without making a ripple.
"Erin's put in a lot of time over the years to maximize her ability," says Princeton diving coach Greg Gunn, who was instrumental in introducing Lutz to the sport nearly 11 years ago. "She's someone who knows what she's capable of doing and won't settle for anything less. She's done extremely well at this level and has the potential to do even more."
Indeed, Lutz has turned heads the past two years with an array of eye-catching accomplishments highlighted by a 14th-place finish on the 3-meter dive at the 1998 NCAA championships that earned her All-America honors as a freshman. The rest of her resume, which includes countless dual-meet victories and a DeNunzio Pool and University record-setting performance in the 3-meter at last year's Silver Anniversary Ivy League championships, lays further claim that she is far and away the league's most dangerous diver. In fact Lutz fell just short of earning the rare distinction of two-time All-America when she finished 18th at last year's NCAA championships.
So with a laundry list of accomplishments in a such a short amount of time, it's understandable that Lutz teeters the fine line of confidence and cockiness when describing her motivation and success.
"I'm not surprised," says Lutz, who is looking for her third consecutive NCAA championship appearance this March in Indianapolis. "That sounds really cocky, but I like things I'm good at. I love competing, and diving came naturally to me after gymnastics."
In a sport that requires the rare combination of strength and flexibility, Lutz's greatest asset may be her innate ability of timing. Amid all the front, back and reverse twisters that flood most routines, it's easy to quite literally fall flat on your face. Despite a few bumps and bruises, Lutz has managed to remain relatively injury-free over the years.
"Great divers have the ability to go through the water in a vertical position," says Gunn, who has capitalized on Lutz's top finishes in the 1-meter dive against Brown and Villanova earlier this season. "And Erin has that ability."
Despite all of her recent success, Lutz will be the first to admit that she's learned more in her morning lectures as a psychology major than in the pool as a All-America diver. Learning new tricks has given way to maintaining her existing repertoire of dives.
"Erin challenges herself at the highest level," says Gunn. "She's performing the same kind of dives as those on the Olympic level. At this point she's refining the skills she's learned in the past. She's trying to be consistent with her dives, while balancing her academics. She's done all of her homework. Now it's just a matter of performing at the right time."
Although Lutz shows no signs of giving up her stranglehold atop the Ivy League, would she be surprised if she qualified for the NCAA championships for a third straight year and made another run at All-America honors?
"Not really ... but I don't want to sound cocky."
by Manish Mehta