As the ASU men's swimming and diving team heads to head to East Meadow, N.Y. for the NCAA Championships Thursday through Saturday, only one Sun Devil bears the weight of high expectations.
Sophomore Joona Puhakka, the reigning NCAA champion on the 1-meter springboard, has been depended on heavily throughout the season. Puhakka said it is nothing he can't handle.
"I don't take pressure, I don't feel it," Puhakka said.
Puhakka's proved his words to be true at the Fina World Cup Diving Championships one month ago in Athens, Greece. Puhakka, a native of Helsinki, Finland, had to place high in order to gain a spot for the Finnish Olympic Diving team. Puhakka delivered under the pressure, placing fifth among the world's top divers in the 3-meter.
"I could not believe that I could dive that well this early in the season," Puhakka said. "It was good for my confidence.
"I think I dive better with pressure," Puhakka added. "When I go to a big meet I focus better on [my dives]."
Coming into the season Puhakka's goal was to win the national championship in both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events. The feat would be a first for an ASU diver.
ASU diving coach Mark Bradshaw said that Puhakka has always risen to the level of competition.
"That's what happens with success, you try to top what you did before," Bradshaw said.
At this point Puhakka is expected to win the 1-meter, and is one of the favorites in the 3-meter as well.
"I've seen him grow from a year ago," Bradshaw said. "I think he's a better diver now."
So far this season, Puhakka has lost only once, in the 3-meter at Stanford. Puhakka is peaking at the right time, having won both events at the Pac-10 and Zone E diving meets against top competition.
The success had come after Puhakka struggled early in the season as he experimented with some new dives.
"I could have done better earlier in the season," Puhakka said. "I was doing new dives and it just didn't work out. You have to be bad first to be good."
Last year, Puhakka finished third in the 3-meter event at NCAAs. This season his main competition will most likely came from Tennessee junior Phillip Jones, last year's 3-meter champion. South Carolina junior Andy Bradley could also challenge Puhakka in both events.
Puhakka said he tries to concentrate on just his diving because it is the only thing he can control.
"If I dive well and somebody beats me, then I'm not disappointed," Puhakka said. "If I dive poorly, I will be disappointed."
Swimmers competing
The Sun Devil men's swimming team will send five competitors to the NCAA meet, led by senior freestyle swimmer Nick Brunelli.
Brunelli, the Pac-10 Champion in the 200m freestyle, presents the best shot at a national championship for the swimmers. Brunelli's time of 135.26 at the Pac-10 Championships, held from March 4-6, is the fifth-best psyche time in the event. He will also be competing in the 50m and 100m freestyle events.
Brunelli appears to be gaining strength at the right time considering he did not even win an event against UA in a dual meet on Feb. 14.
Senior Ahmed Hussein has an outside shot at the a title in the100m and 200m backstroke events, but will most likely be shooting for a top eight finish to compete in the final heat.
Other swimmers competing this weekend include junior Emerson Ward in the 100m breaststroke, sophomore David Kolozar in the 200m butterfly and junior Jeff Barrett in the 100m and 200m freestyle.
Reach the reporter at matthew.schubert@asu.edu.
