Already accustomed to bouncing off the boards, two Virginia divers will look to use the ACC titles won by the 2003 men's and women's swimming and diving teams as a springboard for their own success this weekend.
Senior Alison Sharp and freshman Andrew Barber will travel to Auburn, Alabama where competition beings today in the NCAA Zone B Regional meet.
Sharp and Barber have already experienced team triumph as members of conference championship squads this season, but now have the opportunity for individual accolades in Auburn. Each diver enters the meet hoping to emerge from what Virginia men's and women's diving coach David Fafara called the "toughest zone in the country" with a bid to the NCAA finals. Bids to the finals are reserved for the 12 men and 13 women that earn the highest scores at this weekend's meet, where 18 colleges will be represented.
The scenario is familiar for Sharp, who advanced to Zone Regionals on both the one-meter and three-meter boards in each of the last three years. The senior dove to a career-best finish of 19th place on the one-meter and 24th place on the three-meter at last year's competition, but faces her last chance to qualify for the NCAA finals this year.
"Allison is in her fourth year so she knows what she needs to do to make the NCAA meet," Fafara said.
The head coach, in his 14th season with the Cavaliers, has high hopes for his top diver, and believes Sharp can achieve the bid that has eluded her the past three seasons.
"That would be the accumulation of a great year for her," Fafara said. "It would be the icing on the cake -Etwo school records and being a top-eight finalist on both boards at ACCs against some really stiff competition."
Sharp's long and accomplished Virginia career is a contrast to that of the teammate accompanying her to the Zone meet. Barber, from Vienna, Virginia, is no stranger to diving success. He possesses two Virginia state diving championships and was a 2001-2002 high school All-American. But despite having the benefits of his past accomplishments and Sharp's model to emulate, the freshman has no NCAA experience of his own going into this weekend's meet.
"This year I've practiced more than I have ever in my life," Barber said. "I became more consistent with my dives."
Barber's efforts earned him a fifth-place finish on the three-meter board in this year's ACC championship meet, and have not gone unnoticed by his coaches or his teammates.
"As far as leading the team in diving, Andrew holds a key role for the future of this team," sophomore swimmer Bo Greenwood said. "His work ethic is really great. He's really motivated and works hard in everything he does whether on dry land or on the board."
The Cavaliers will be competing in the Zone meet without the services of junior Pete Amstuz, Virginia's 2000-2001 Diver of the Year, who will miss the meet due to injury.
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