Nemtsanov wins Zone ‘A’ title

Head coach Chuck Knoles has called the Pitt men’s diving team “the class of the Big East.” If… Head coach Chuck Knoles has called the Pitt men’s diving team “the class of the Big East.” If that’s the case, then Dennis Nemtsanov is at the head of the class.

Nemtsanov followed up his performance at Big East Championships — one that saw him win the 3-meter springboard competition and receive Male Diver of the Year honors — with a win on the 1-meter springboard at the NCAA Zone ‘A’ Diving Championships at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Nemtsanov placed second in preliminary competition on the 1-meter springboard, but moved into first for the finals. His score of 655.6 earned him the Zone ‘A’ NCAA title. The victory gives him his third straight NCAA berth. But he didn’t stop there. The junior transfer from Louisiana State University also earned second place in the platform competition, finishing less than 17 points shy of winner Kent DeMond of Princeton. He also took third in the 3-meter springboard event.

The win means that Nemtsanov will compete at the NCAA championships from March 24-26 in Minneapolis, Minn. Once there, he will have a chance to earn All-American honors, which goes to the eight highest finishers. He is a two-time Honorable Mention All-American, but he doesn’t want to settle for three in a row.

“Basically, I want to do a lot better than I did last year,” he said. “I want to get into the top eight.”

In order to do so, he plans to take a step backward.

“My preparation is pretty much the same as usual,” he explained, “except I try to get back to basics a little bit.”

This kind of redundant diving won’t be a problem for a diligent trainer like Nemtsanov, who, according to diving coach Julian Krug, is one of the hardest workers around.

“He does more training, more work, more dives [in practice] than anyone,” Krug, the Big East diving coach of the year, said of his star.

In addition to working on fundamentals, Nemtsanov will continue his work on the dives he plans to use in competition. But the process he goes through to stay in peak form has more than just physical aspects.

“Specifically, it’s mental preparation,” he said. “I visualize my dives every night before I go to bed.”

Whatever he sees, it’s the right thing. His coaches have nothing but praise for his accomplishments this season.

“He’s the most gifted of all of our athletes in performances this year,” Knoles said of his top diver.

“He’s flat-out committed to being the best that he can be,” Krug added.

While Nemtsanov’s efforts may overshadow other Pitt competitors, the rest of the team had a solid day as well. Freshman Jeremy Stultz sent a message to the region that the Panthers are looking to establish a dynasty by finishing fourth in both the 1- and 3-meter events. In the 3-meter event, he finished just behind Nemtsanov. The two Pitt divers were both within 35 points of the winner, Penn State’s Adam Pierce.

Also earning a top-10 finish for the men was Devin Aikins. He placed fourth in the platform competition, and was the ninth-place finisher on the 1-meter board. In the men’s 3-meter finals, he and Adam Natishyn ended up 17th and 18th, respectively, to give Pitt four divers in the top 20 for that event. Less than nine points separated Aikins and Natishyn.

Three members of Pitt’s women’s diving team placed in the meet as well. Colleen Kristobak led the group, taking ninth place in the 3-meter and 14th in the 1-meter. The Panthers’ pair of freshmen divers, Kristin Caiazzo and Megan McCandless, finished in the top 20 in both the 1- and 3-meter events.