Men’s and Women’s Dive Teams Compete at Zones in Maryland, Senior Nina Janmyr Qualifies for NCAAs

Ten Harvard divers flipped off the boards this past week at the United States Naval Academy for the Zone A Diving Championship, seeking to qualify for the upcoming NCAA Championships later this month.

Senior Nina Janmyr emerged as the Crimson’s lone NCAA championship qualifier for diving, finishing sixth in the one-meter dive against a crowded pool of aspiring qualifiers.

Harvard divers faced off against over 90 female divers and 60 male divers across the region during the three-day meet, making the largest competition field for the team so far this season.

Sophomores Ennika Carlson and Samantha Holtz reached the finals in the three-meter dive, while Janmyr qualified for NCAA championships for the fourth year in a row.

Janmyr said she looks forward to “savor[ing] the moment” at NCAAs for her final collegiate season.

“This one’s definitely special because this will be my last meet before I retire from this 15-year career, which is crazy. I’m really just excited to go out there and give it my all,” Janmyr said.

On the men’s side, senior Raphael Tourette was Harvard’s lone male diver to qualify for the final round, finishing 11th in the prelims and 16th in the finals for the one-meter dive.

This year, the Crimson’s divers spanned across all four grade levels. Holtz emphasized the tight-knit nature of the group, which she especially felt when she and Carlson went to the final round.

“It’s hard to explain the joy you feel being able to celebrate each other and really enjoy that special time where it's not a huge group, and it’s just you and your teammates,” Holtz said.

Closing off her inaugural season as the head diving coach, Tracey Bird expressed her pride for all the seniors — Janmyr, Tourette, and captain Tabitha Chen-Fiske — for competing in their final collegiate meet.

As for the younger divers, Bird said she’s excited to watch them grow throughout their years competing at zones.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for the freshmen to just get that whole complete experience of a collegiate swimming and diving experience and to know what it takes to make it to the NCAA championships,” Bird said.

Zones, especially, feel unique compared to the other meets the Crimson competes in. In addition to its large size, as Harvard’s region encompasses over 40 schools across the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, the pool environment is absent of their fellow swimmer teammates.

Still, Holtz said she appreciated the focus on diving.

“It is fun only having the divers on deck because it is this mutual respect of every diver there who can appreciate the diving holistically, [rather] than splitting it between cheering for swim and cheering for diving,” Holtz said.

Both the athletes and Bird enjoyed uniting the men’s and women’s teams as they traveled down to Maryland. The Harvard team kept its spirits high throughout, dancing on the pool deck to pass the time as they waited for each other to dive.

“Our team always brings the fun and the silly goofiness, just like the dancing behind the boards. We really try [to] keep the vibes up. That being said, I think zones is one of the most challenging meets that we have in the season,” Janmyr said.

“This meet definitely does take a toll on you, and it can be very stressful, but I think our team always makes the most of it and brings the energy,” the senior added.

The Harvard women’s team will take four athletes to Atlanta, Ga., to compete at the NCAA Championships, while the men’s team will send two athletes the following week to the Peach State.

Freshman William Mulgrew will compete in the 1650-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle, while sophomore Adriano Arioti will take the deck for the 200-yard backstroke.

Janmyr will compete in one-meter diving. For swimming, junior Alexandra Bastone will compete in the 500-yard freestyle, senior Sydney Lu in the 100-yard freestyle, and senior Anya Mostek in both the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke.

Bird said Janmyr is prepared to compete among the best divers in the country.

“The work’s been done,” Bird said. “Nina’s a world-class diver, so we’re just going to go to NCAAs and let loose and have fun and see how well she can do.”

—Staff writer Uy B. Pham can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ubp.88. Follow him on X @uybpham.

— Staff writer Avani Shah-Lipman can be reached at [email protected].