Diver Doug Pilawa ‘12

Skidmore’s very own diver Doug Pilawa can truly say he lived his dream, becoming the first Skidmore male athlete ever to earn selection to the NCAA Division III Championships this past March. After Pilawa’s tremendous 4-year diving career at Skidmore, Her Campus sat down with the diving star as he reflected on eight years of hard work that got him to the NCAA Championships.
 
Her Campus: So tell us about your diving career as a whole—how did you decide to get started as a diver?
Doug Pilawa: I have been diving for eight years. During my freshman year of high school, I heard this announcement over the PA announcing an informational meeting for anyone interested in swimming or diving.  I always enjoyed watching the diving events in the Olympics and it sounded interesting, so I figured I would give it a shot!
 
HC: Tell us about this past season and your most recent achievements.
DP: This season was my best so far on the Skidmore diving team.  I broke all four of the Skidmore diving records (records that I myself set during my sophomore year) and I had a perfect dual meet record of 16-0.  I was also named the Liberty League co-diver of the year and won the 1meter competition at the RPI Invitational.  I won the State Championships, making me the first Skidmore swimmer or diver ever to win at States. At States, I won both the one- and three-meter competitions and set a new conference record on three-meter.  I was named Diver of the Meet and was awarded the conference Douglas McDevitt Award for male swimmer or diver scholar athlete.  Finally, I went to Division III Nationals!
 
HC: How did it feel to be the first Skidmore male athlete to earn selection to the NCAA Division III Nationals?
DP: It felt incredible.  I’d known that Skidmore had never sent a male swimmer or diver to Nationals and it was always a goal of mine to make it and to represent Skidmore on that level. For eight years, I’ve worked hard in hopes of getting this far and I’m incredibly excited, relieved, and proud at what I’ve accomplished.
 
HC: What did it take to earn selection for the Division III Nationals?
DP: In order to qualify for NCAA Division III Nationals, a diver has to score a certain amount of points during competition for both the one- and three-meter boards.  However, because diving is an objective sport it's also required that divers send in video footage of a competition during which he or she received these national qualifying scores.  After a selection committee reviews the submitted tapes, it only chooses 22 divers from the country to go to Nationals.
 
HC: Tell us about the experience at Nationals—where did it take place?
DP: Nationals were held in Indianapolis at IUPUI—the headquarters of USA diving—the week after our March spring break. IUPUI has a GORGEOUS pool and I’ve always dreamed of competing there!
 
HC: Congrats! How was your experience there?
DP: In a standard dual meet, we compete six dives on one-meter and six dives on three-meter.  Yet, in a championship meet, like States and Nationals, we compete 11 dives on both boards.  There are five categories of dives: front, back, reverse, inward, and twisters—each category and dive is represented by a number.  Because most divers speak this way, it may sound weird to someone to overhear a diver saying something like, "I'm going to do 305B."  But, that’s just kind of how we communicate.