The Rensselaer swimming & diving team sent two divers to Holland, Mich., over spring break, to compete in the men’s and women’s NCAA Championships.
Senior Melissa Hershey made her third appearance at the national event held from March 9-12, and sophomore Greg Derevianko hit the national boards for the first time the following weekend, March 16-19. Each diver competed in both the one-meter and three-meter events.
Hershey’s final season was capped with a 16th place performance in the three-meter dive.
“I had a great time at nationals,” recalled a pleased Hershey. “I came back with some hardware, so that was a great end to the season and my RPI diving career.”
The hardware was an honorable mention All-American plaque she received for her showing in the three-meter. The plaque was Hershey’s fourth of her illustrious Rensselaer career.
“I was pleasantly surprised with Melissa,” said diving coach Maria Coomaraswamy-Falkenstein, “because it was a huge group of girls who qualified to send tapes, the largest group ever. So, I really didn’t know what to expect until we got there, but I was very pleased with how she did.”
Hershey will graduate this May, having undoubtedly left her mark on Red Hawk diving. “Coming in as a freshman, I had big goals,” reflected the senior. “I can’t believe so many of them came true.”
Derevianko made a big splash in his first ever national championship. The sophomore finished third in the one-meter dive and 11th in the three-meter event.
The third place finish earned him All-American standing in the one-meter, and the 11th-place showing garnered an honorable mention in the three-meter.
“He was very calm,” explained Coomaraswamy-Falkenstein of RPI’s male representative in Michigan. “Usually the first time you’re there, you’re nervous and you tend to have a disaster one or two times, [but] he really put it together.”
“It was amazing,” said Derevianko of the experience. “My goal for this season was to make it to nationals. So, once I made it, I didn’t really know what to do. And then I decided it’d be good to keep a goal, so my goal was to get top 16, but I didn’t really expect to get anything like what happened.”
Derevianko pointed to his training schedule and coach as the catalysts for his outstanding performance. “Maria is a great coach and she knows what she’s doing. She tells us exactly what to do to fix our problems so we get the good scores that we need,” he said.
He went on to add, “The training trip really helped.” The Red Hawks spent 10 days in St. Croix training over winter break. “We worked really hard and we worked non-stop,” described Derevianko.
The strong showing as a sophomore begs the question of whether Derevianko can someday bring a national title to RPI.
“It would be really nice,” the diver said about winning on the national stage. “I’m going to keep training really hard. I’m hoping to keep the momentum going.” Derevianko added with a chuckle, “My coach told me, she said before I graduate, I have to win a [national] meet.”
Coomaraswamy-Falkenstein clarified, “I said that because it makes the season so much longer, so I kind of threatened him that if I was going to be dragged off to Michigan this year and Minnesota next year, he’d better win something, make it all worth my while.
“But honestly, if he dives as well as he did this year and just enjoys it and is as pleasant and as fun to coach as he was this year, I don’t care where. I’m very happy, couldn’t ask for more.”
