Two of the three divers, Elissa Dawson and Jack Nyquist, are current student-athletes and members of North Carolina’s diving team. The third, Michole Timm, graduated from UNC in 2015.
All three are competing in the three-meter springboard.
UNC diving coach Abel Sanchez said the three Tar Heels have a chance at making it into one of the top two spots required to qualify for the Olympic Team.
“Anyone that’s in the meet has a shot,” he said. “If you’re in the stands, you’re just a spectator, if you’re out on the board, then you have a shot and anything is possible.”
Dawson agreed.
“There are so many variables that go into a competition that, from day to day, the place that you get could change.” she said.
In Sanchez’s three years as UNC’s head diving coach the team has continued to improve.
Nyquist credits Sanchez’s unique coaching style, which emphasizes mental toughness, for the team’s success.