Boston College Athletics
Players Mentioned
Divers Vranos and Malatesta Prepare for Zones
January 26, 2016 | Swimming
After qualifying for NCAA Zones over the past season, Boston College divers senior Marina Vranos and junior Cole Malatesta recently sat down with bceagles.com to talk about their success in the pool and how they have been able to reach this competitive stage of diving in their sport.
ÂQualifying for Zones after placing first in the 1 meter dive against Williams in December with a score of 266.25, Vranos is the first female diver since one of her mentors, Katherine Oskar '14, qualified for Zones in 2014. Since coming to dive at BC, Vranos says that she has been able to "learn a lot of new, more difficult dives...difficulty plays a huge role in competitions and getting higher scores." Vranos also notes how she was able to overcome her fear of diving 3 meter before coming to BC as a result of the strong leadership on the team. "I think every diver who has been on this team has brought something unique to the pool deck, and we all learn a lot from each other which makes us better divers. The team right now is more competitive than ever and it's really exciting for the future."
ÂMalatesta, a junior, still has one more year to dive at Boston College and be a part of that "future." Qualifying in the 1 meter dive with a score of 310 at the New England Catholic Invite at the beginning of the season, Malatesta points out that, "With about a year left in my diving career, the only goal I have [now] is to work as hard as I can to reach my full potential as an athlete and teammate and leave the sport knowing I left it all out there."
ÂWhile both Vranos and Malatesta are leaders on the team, both divers still look to certain mentors to maintain their focus and strive for success in the pool. Vranos says that she looks to all of her other teammates. "I am the only senior on the diving team but I think I look to all the other divers for inspiration at some point during a practice or meet. I have never been on such a tight-knit team and I can't imagine being able to qualify for Zones without these amazing people." Malatesta too recognizes his teammates, particularly the senior class. "They are a very approachable group of guys, and they have definitely been a great model for success for me and the other guys on the team, not just this year but for the last few years as well. They are definitely leaving a legacy to be proud of."
ÂWith NCAA Zones coming up in the beginning of March, Vranos and Malatesta will dive in their final meet of the season. For Vranos, Zones will be the last meet of her career. In reflection, Vranos says how much she has "loved [her] time on this team [...] I am kind of in denial about my 'retirement' from the sport — diving is so fun! However, I am not opposed to the idea of coaching someday. Not ready to leave completely!" Malatesta, who still has his senior year to compete, looks forward to "get back to the fundamentals of diving and really fine-tune [his] dives" before focusing too far down the road. Regardless of the outcome of their dives at Zones, both divers will cap off tremendous seasons of diving for the Eagles.
