Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Q&A: Diver Michael Papageorge '09
January 14, 2008 | Men's Swimming and Diving
Sophomore diver Michael Papageorge didn't waste any time making an impact on the Princeton Tigers. He placed second in both the EISL one- and three-meter diving championships last year, which helped Princeton to a second straight league title. Papageorge, whose attention will be focused on exams this week, chatted with GoPrincetonTigers.com about his early career and his hopes for the remainder of 2008.
1) How old were you and what got you interested in diving competitively?
I really became interested in diving competitively when I was 13. I had tried diving a couple times during a couple of summers in my local novice league, and I really enjoyed that, so I joined a newly formed year-round program near my house. From the day I started I loved every minute of it and have never looked back.
2) How do you practice all the twists and flips when you are first learning all the dives?
Like any sport you have to start with the basics and work hard, but with diving you also have to be a little crazy. When I first learned to flip, my coach told me how to do it and I just went. The really scary dives are the first backward and reverse one and half flips because you can't see your entry, so for these you just have to trust yourself and your coach and go for it. After that adding flips and twists is just spinning faster and jumping higher.
3) What goes through your mind in those few seconds on the board before you dive?
In practice I concentrate on the corrections that I need to make on my dive, but meets are completely different. In a meet you have to make yourself know that you can do the dive well so all I think about is landing vertical on the water.
4) Do you prefer the 1- or 3-meter dives, and why?
I prefer 3-meter dives much more. 1-meter often turns into a competition of strength and who can spin the fastest and land on their heads. 3-meter, on the other hand, is much more about being able to control your speed and power, and being able to make your dive look really good.
5) Were you surprised that you finished second in both EISL competitions in your first year of competition? Is it a big motivator to move up one notch this season and win the meet?
I worked very hard all year to help make myself competitive at the EISL meet, and I was very pleased that I was able to finish where I did. A goal of mine when I came to Princeton was to win both EISL competitions. Getting so close and not quite winning has definitely given me a stronger desire to reach that goal.
6) What is the biggest difference between you as a freshman diver and a sophomore one?
As a freshman you don't know what to expect, and although I have been to plenty of meets I don't think anything quite compares to the EISL final events. It is the first time that most of us have ever dived in front of a crowd of four or five thousand people that are all yelling and cheering. I think that having experienced this once now will allow me to better control my excitement, and allow me to concentrate more on my diving.
7) What do you think has made Greg Gunn such a successful diving coach for so many years?
I think that Greg's success comes from him being able to be supportive and positive with us divers no matter how frustrated we get. Since diving is such a mental sport having a coach that is positive and understanding when you are freaking out over a chemistry exam or a 25-page paper is very relaxing and provides us all with a great environment to train in.
8) If a rule was made that a diver had to swim one event each meet, which event would you choose? Could you be competitive in it?
I would have to choose the 50 free since it is the shortest event and I would not be competitive, but to be fair the swimmers would have to compete in a dive event, because that would actually be entertaining.
9) Are divers and swimmers as close as any other set of teammates, or are you split off from each other most of the time in practices and meets?
One of the main reasons I came to Princeton was because the swimmers and divers seemed so close. Having been on a high school swim team that had very little bonding between the sports, I was very happy when I got to Princeton and was immediately welcomed into the family with all the other P10 swimmers and divers. Since my first day, the team as a whole has been very close, and it is very important to me that we remain that way.
10) How important is it to you to keep the EISL title in Princeton this season?
Being part of a team there is no better feeling than winning your conference championship meet. Having said that keeping the EISL title in Princeton is very important to me.
(Princeton resumes its 2007-08 season Jan. 27 at Dartmouth and will return home Feb. 9 against Navy. The EISL championships will be held March 6-8 at Harvard.)