Philip Zoppi – Sports Writer
Haley Boland of the women’s Southern swimming team is finishing off her sophomore season with plenty of success.
Boland, one of the three divers on the team, was named the ECAC Division II Diver of the Week for her performance in a meet against Pace.
In the meet against Pace, Boland secured first place in both diving events, winning the one-meter dive with a score of 245.10 and the three-meter dive with 244.13 points. Boland was not only proud of herself but proud of the way the team performed in their meet with Pace.
“Pace was a great meet. Our team, as a whole, got really fired up before the meet started,” said Boland. “I dove with a lot of confidence and I think it really showed in that meet.”
Boland has been on a hot streak as the season comes to an end. In the last three meets before the Northeast-10 Championships Boland has had a first place finish in every one. Against Le Moyne, Boland had two first place victories and against Connecticut College she had four first place victories.
A lot of this success is due to Boland’s hard work and dedication to perfecting her diving. Boland also gives a lot of credit to her diving coach, Jesse Cyr, for her improvement.
“I feel like we have developed a strong relationship,” said Boland when referring to Cyr. “He is always pushing me and I’ve learned to trust that he knows best when it comes to my diving potential even if I question my abilities sometimes.”
Cyr has been coaching Boland for six years now. Boland dove for Cyr’s club team during her time in high school. Cyr has been happy with the way Boland has matured as a diver during his time coaching her.
“I’m really pleased with her progression throughout the year,” said Cyr. “She’s really a good girl and someone that I enjoy working with. She’s definitely gotten a lot more solid from top to bottom on all her dives compared to the beginning of the year. She seems to be peaking at the right time.”
Something that both Cyr and Boland point to as one of the reasons her dives have gotten so much better is her work ethic. This work ethic is used in more than just diving. Every member of the swimming team deals with a hectic schedule during the year so good work ethic is essential.
The swimming team practices every day for almost three hours and on top of that they have two days where the divers and swimmers have to lift. Boland does not let this schedule get in her way of succeeding in school as well.
“I’ve found that diving has taught me how to manage my time a lot better. It really has disciplined me as a person on and off the boards,” said Boland.
Boland was named to the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll for her performance against Pace. This is a recurring theme among Southern athletes this year, as Southern has set a record for the amount of athletes to be named to the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll.
Both Boland and Cyr hope that in the two conference championships coming up, Boland can secure the nationally qualifying score to be eligible to compete in nationals.
Photo Credit: SCSU Athletic Communications