Diving Into History
Feb. 27, 2002
What does it take to be a two-time Mid-American Conference champion? Senior Dylan Nichols knows.
Not only has Nichols been the MAC diving champion the past two seasons in both the one-meter and three-meter diving competitions but he is also the reigning two-time MAC Diver of the Year.
"It was pretty sweet," Nichols said of his back-to-back titles. "I didn't expect to win my sophomore year. I think it's really hard to repeat two years in a row. (Like) politics in figure skating, diving judges can make it difficult to repeat."
Being a senior, Nichols is in the last few weeks of his college diving career, and from what his mentor has to say about him, he will be sorely missed when he is gone. "Dylan is a laid-back, fun-loving person," head diving coach Todd Spohn said. "(His personality) is contagious. He keeps people coming back to the pool, not making (practice) feel like work."
Nichols may have a carefree personality, but he knows to turn it on when competing against the best divers in the conference. "I have mental toughness when it comes to crunch time," Nichols said.
"He is someone who rises to the occasion," Spohn said. "The more important the meet, the more he competes."
So how did this Indianapolis native become such a polished, competitive diver? Gymnastics, of course.
Nichols was a gymnast for eight years before he became interested in diving.
"Diving was really easy to pick up because it's the same motions (as gymnastics)," Nichols said. "It particularly helped me with diving form and somersaults."
In diving, a strong gymnastics background is advantageous to developing good form.
"(Gymnastics) gave Dylan the competitive foundation for him to be strong in diving," Spohn said. "Plus, he is emotionally stable...it's very hard to intimidate him."
Nichols' personal and team goals come as no surprise for someone of his make-up.
"I try to do as well as I can and not get hurt," he said. "But the most important thing to me is a team championship."
What would really set Nichols apart is three-peating on both boards, something that has never been done in school history. He is hopeful that his past success will help him in his pursuit of this unprecedented accomplishment.
"I'd like to win three consecutive championships, but we'll see," said Nichols, knocking on wood.
Nichols has not the best of luck in trying to avoid injury. He still feels the lingering effects of two herniated discs in his back, an injury that first appeared three years ago. Before that and in high school, Nichols dove from the 10-meter tower. He competed with an Olympic-caliber dive list, which helped him to a second-place finish at the East Indoor National Championships when he was 15.
"In doing that, I made the Indy Twisters club that trains year-long," Nichols said proudly.
Although Nichols has no plans to dive after college, he does foresee coaching in the future.
"It would have to be intermediate-to-elite level," he said.
His more immediate concern is the impending MAC meet, which is less than two weeks away. Nichols knows his teammates will be depending on him to be the same old Dylan.
"(For the past four years), I have led by everyone watching me get it done on the board," Nichols said.
"He has been good with leadership over the years, and everyone looks to him to set the tone," Spohn said.
There is, of course, a chance that Nichols' swam song may not be the MAC Championships.
"If he does what he's capable of, he can go to nationals," Spohn said confidently.
Knowing Nichols' propensity for performing superbly under pressure, that might not be a very big "if."
Story by Katie Lupsor