Already one of the top divers in the state, freshman Lucy Hogan is taking the sport to a new level. In the six years that she’s been diving, Lucy has impressed everyone from her teammates to her coaches, and the crowd can’t keep their eyes off of her when she’s on the board. Lucy is definitely one to watch in the future.

1. Who or what inspired you to dive?
I was swimming at the Northwestern pool with my friend and my club coach, Alik, came up to me and said he wanted me to be a diver on his team.

2. Where did you learn how to dive?

My coach Alik taught me at Chicago Dive Club, which is the team he coaches. I’ve been diving there since I was 8 years old.

3. What is a struggle you have had to overcome in diving?

It is challenging to perfect new dives. My coach pushes me until I perfect the dive.

4. How have you balanced school and intense diving?
I have been practicing two hours every night since I was a little kid, so I’ve gotten used to balancing practice and homework. Hopefully I can keep this balance up throughout high school.

5. What do you want to achieve in diving?
I definitely want to dive in college at a big school like University of Michigan. I also want to win state and place top ten nationally in high school.

6. What have your teammates been like during this whole experience?

Everybody is so nice and really supportive. It is a really great feeling when you come out of the water and everyone is cheering with you. My club team is really tight-knit, but I have even more fun with the high school team.

7. Which dive is your specialty?

Probably reverse twister. To do the reverse twister, you start facing the water, jump up backwards and twist so that you’re upside down facing the board, and then position yourself so that you dive cleanly into the water.

8. What is your proudest moment as a diver?
Last year at nationals I placed eighth in my age group, which was really exciting. Now, I am ranked 3rd of all girls graduating in my class nationally.