Taking the plunge for Notre Dame

When they were freshmen at Notre Dame Academy in Hingham, Gabrielle Garcia and Maureen Lyne wanted to find a fall sport. They decided to give the then-new diving team a try, and it turned out to be a perfect fit for Garcia, a dancer, and Lyne, a gymnast.

Now, four years later, Garcia and Lyne are an integral part of a team that, in its fifth season, has notably strengthened the school's swimming program.

The diving team has developed under the leadership of Jen Clarkson, who was hired by the school to start the program. She came with good credentials -- including the 1985 Connecticut high school state championship title. She also dove while at Cornell University.

Clarkson was happy to get back into the sport she enjoyed. ``I loved being a part of the swim team in high school and in college," Clarkson said. ``It was a special experience." And as coach, she still will have time to raise her twin boys, Will and James, and daughter, Kate.

Clarkson used the basics to introduce divers to proper technique, being guided in large part on what her college coach had taught her. She reminds divers to think about technique and not to be anxious.

Lyne said she took to the sport right away, and she and Garcia joined club teams outside of high school to perfect their technique.

Last year, Lyne placed fourth in the state as the team went on to win its first MIAA state swimming championship.

``It was so exciting to know I was part of the team and I was contributing," Lyne said.

Before the diving team was formed, Notre Dame lost points at meets because it did not have competitors diving. With each year, the divers found themselves contributing more and more points.

Garcia has been able to use the grace she has learned in ballet to help in the presentation of her dives. She also developed a level of toughness after a miscue during a dive her sophomore year. In 2004, Garcia hit her chin on the board while performing an inward dive.

``When I came out of the water, I was thinking it wasn't that bad because it didn't hurt," Garcia said.

Her teammates felt differently. Lyne said she was scared for Garcia when they saw her chin bleeding. Garcia had stitches and sat out two weeks before stepping on the board again.

After the injury, she chose to pick up where she left off, starting with the inward dive.

``It shook me up a little bit, but it made me work that much harder," Garcia said. ``I wanted to get up there because I was afraid if I didn't do that particular dive as good as possible. . . . I would be too afraid to do it again."

Garcia was named as one of the swimming team's captains this season -- a reflection of the coaches' goals to treat the swimmers and divers as one team. According to Clarkson, Notre Dame swimming coach Mike Riley ``makes a huge effort to make sure everyone knows divers are an integral part of the team."

The dive team this season includes freshman Jacquie Garcia, Gabrielle's sister, and sophomore Emily Finn and junior Corie Reddington, who also qualified for the state meet last year. The swimmers and divers often get together for pasta parties and exchange small gifts the day of meets.

``They understand the commitment it takes," Clarkson said, and ``We have a lot of fun while we're at practice."

Garcia and Lyne will continue their effort this season to contribute as many points as possible to the team's overall scores.

``I can see the progression not only in the quality of our dives, but in the level of difficulty," Lyne said. ``We're doing more flips and twists but our entries are just as clean as if it were a simple forward dive."

No matter who is scoring the points, Riley said this is a team effort for Notre Dame.

``It's amazing how this all has come together," Riley said. ``We had a bus load of girls that went to the state meet last year. We had our own section blocked off. As a coach, I couldn't have been happier with that."

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