On November 11, junior Eva Shawver placed 25th in State for diving at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont. 

On November 5, Girls Swimming and Diving competed in Sectionals at Glenbrook South, with Shawver qualifying for State in diving. Shawver broke the 6-dive record earlier this year, and on November 5, broke the 11-dive record with a score of 419.90, placing 5th. 

This is Shawver’s third season diving, and her first time qualifying for State. Making it to State wasn’t easy, as she had a lot of training and practice. State can be a stressful environment, with all the pressure of competing against some of the best athletes in the state, but Shawver kept her focus.

“Throughout the season I was focusing mostly on improving my technique and learning new dives, but towards the end of the season I really started focusing more on qualifying for state…” Shawver said. “During the meet, I was trying to stay calm and remember what I had been working on during practice. I also listened to music in between all of my dives so I wouldn’t get in my head.” 

“In 53 seasons of coaching, I have rarely had divers that worked as hard as Eva, and she does it with great determination and love of the sport,” Coach Michael Schulewitz said. “There were times that Eva would smack on the water so hard that she would immediately get bruises and you could tell it was very painful, but Eva would just look at me and say ‘what did I do wrong’ and then she would get back up on the board and try it again.”

Shawver looks forward to the next dive season. 

“My goals for next season and beyond are to get new dives, keep improving, and make top 12 at state,” Shawver said. “I am also hoping to continue diving after high school.”