Following an unfortunate series of injuries, Freshman Karissa Conner is the lone diver competing for the Bobcats swimming and diving team.
Divers have one chance to flawlessly flip through the air, tuck and finish into the water.
It’s a routine a diver has to perfect alone, feet from the water.
But for Ohio’s Karissa Conner, that lonesomeness isn’t just on the diving board. She’s the Bobcats’ only healthy diver and is in her first year of collegiate competition.
“It is definitely like an adrenaline rush, my heart’s pumping,” Conner said. “It’s nerve-wracking because you only get one shot.”
Conner has been the team’s lone competitor in diving events since October after a series of injuries and illnesses sidelined the Bobcats’ other divers for the 2014-15 season. She’ll be the only Ohio competitor in next week’s Mid-American Conference Championships.
“It was hard starting off alone, I had to get used to it,” Conner said. “It is one dive after another, and you are the only one there so you are expected to go pretty fast.”
A lot weighs on Conner’s shoulders, as she is the only diver scoring points for Ohio. The top four divers in any event can score points for his or her school. Because Conner, a Granite Bay, California, native, is the only healthy diver, Ohio has been at a disadvantage with one competitor striving for points.
“When I am up there I know I need to beat myself before I can focus on beating this girl,” she said. “It’s doing what I know, focusing on beating my own score and doing the best I can do.”
Conner is alone on the board, but she’s motivated by her coach Russ Dekker and senior diver Haleigh Bartlett, a redshirt for missing this season who also has developed a sisterly bond with Conner.
“I am not only there as a friend, but as a mentor,” Bartlett said. “I can help her out. I have more experience, she is just beginning, learning the ropes.”
Bartlett can relate to being the lone diver of a team after being in the same situation in high school. The experience she had being a lone diver and during three years competing with the Bobcats has helped Conner adjust to solidarity during meets by relieving pressure through friendly conversations, as well as a bit of coaching.
“It is good that I have Haleigh to talk to,” Conner said. “Its nice to know that you have a big sister away from home, (she) always gives me advice and we always joke around.”
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Not only has Conner been able to develop a strong relationship with Bartlett, she has been able to take full advantage of the experience of her coach — one who has been at Ohio for 11 seasons and has guided some of the best divers in program history.
Although having just one athlete healthy for competition was not the situation Dekker, the reigning MAC Diving Coach of the Year, had hoped for this season, the duo has been able to utilize the individual coaching to further prepare her for the rest of her collegiate career.
“We need to break a lot of old habits, bad habits, kind of break down and rebuild so to speak,” Dekker said. “Having the extra time and the one on one and (doing) extra dry-land things has been really beneficial.”
Not only is the extra one-on-one time benefiting Conner, it’s also helping Bartlett. She’s remained observant during meets from outside the pool and is learning how to better her skills for when she returns to competition.
With the MAC Championships set to begin next Thursday in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Conner and Ohio are focusing on perfecting their performances in each event.
Despite only having one eligible diver, Dekker believes in the entire program.
“We are all proud to be Bobcats, sometimes you are the best in the conference Bobcats and sometimes you're not,” Dekker said. “But that doesn’t take away from the fact that you are a Bobcat. We are going to make the best out of any situation we face and do it with our heads held high.”
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