ASU diver Mara Aiacoboae enjoyed a season that was nothing short of spectacular.
She did not lose a single one meter dive throughout the season, even when she went up against tough Pac-12 opponents such as USC, Cal Berkeley and Stanford. Although the overall women's swim and dive team did not have a strong season, the team could always count on Aiacoboae to give them at least a nine points.
She also performed well in her three-meter dives this season. Aiacoboae placed in the top three divers in six out of seven meets.
Her success is driving her to Rio, where she'll compete in the FINA Diving World Cup from Feb. 19-24. She'll be representing Romania, the country she lived in until coming to ASU.
Aiacoboae sounded casual when talking about the World Cup. She's been diving since she was six and has competed in international tournaments since she was 14.
"I have had several years to get used to it," she said. "Also, it is almost the same people every time because the best people go from each country and those people do not usually change that often."
What does change, though, is the culture of different nations. She spoke about the contrast of American and Romanian diving.
"Here it is different: you are either (a) high school diver or a college diver or a swimmer," she said. "Back home, you are just in a club. It does not matter if you are a college or high school or younger diver. You are all on the same club team."
Additionally, she experienced a culture change.
"It was a big difference because of the language. When I came here I had to speak a new language every day," she said. "There are also many differences between the cultures, here it is more open-minded, whereas in Romania it is an older way of thinking."
While she competes for her home nation, she'll also be diving for ASU and preparing for the Pac-12 tournament.
"It is a lot of diving between nationals, collegiate and Olympic diving, but if I get one or two weeks break it allows my body to rest," Aiacoboae said. "Once the break is over I can get my body moving again for the next dive."
After the Pac-12 tournament, she'll be competing for placement in the NCAA tournament. Aiacoboae has shown success during the year and in her career. She sees professional diving as a possibility.
However, she is aware of the potential for injury. In professional dives, the athletes dive at 10 meters instead of one and three meters in collegiate diving.
"In 10 meter diving, you can get injured very easily because it is much higher than a one-meter dive, you have to (perform) many more flips, the speed is faster and you have a much stronger impact with the water," she said.
Related Links:
Michael Phelps, Olympic swimmers draw hundreds to ASU v. UA meet
Meet the students from Michael Phelps' Curtain of Distraction skit
Reach the reporter at Graham.Paul@asu.edu or follow @GrahamASUpress on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
