Jean Liu, 23, nutrition major, has been diving for a month and a half. Liu earned the No.1 spot in the conference while taking a seventh place finish in Southern California for the women’s 3 meter competition at the diving championships on Saturday, April 15.
Q: How do you feel about being No. 1 in conference?
A: Really surprised. I didn’t expected it at all, honestly. I think it’s been a very humbling experience because I got to see other divers compete. There were so many schools from Southern California and I was able to see divers that have been diving for like six or seven years. There was gymnasts who become divers and since I also was a gymnast, it was cool to see that. One of the cool parts was just being able to be part of this experience, where everyone supports each other.
Q: How did you prepare yourself for the diving championship event?
A: I think there is a lot of mental preparation that goes on. When I go home, I literally just YouTube “Best Olympics Dives” or like “Best Springboard Dives.” I just watch people dive because I think one of the most important part of this sport is to visualize and be able to focus on what I need to do.
Q: Why did you choose this sport?
A: I tried a few sports before (and) the longest I have participated in a sport was gymnastics, (which) it is a very good transition into diving because diving it’s not really about being in the water. It’s about what you do before you go into the water.
Q: What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work or diving?
A: I like to go to the gym sometimes, when I get the chance to. I like to lift weights for fun. I used to be competitive on that and in my free time I like to watch anime like Pokemon.
Q: What are you plans after college?
A: I came to EC because I just wanted to take a few classes and I am planning on taking a master’s program because I graduated from UC Davis already. I’m just taking a few classes for fun.
Q: Do you plan on diving after college?
A: I think if I could keep diving in my masters program I would but I feel like it would be very hard to because of the time commitment probably and being in a grad program it would probably be difficult. But I do wished I would have discovered earlier.
