Zieman Leads MSU Women's Swimming and Diving
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
January 14, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Senior Kim Zieman came to Michigan State University from Stony Plain, Alberta, as a freshman because of diving coach John Narcy.
"The other schools I visited were offering the same thing, but the coach here is the best coach I have ever had - that's why I came to this school, " said Zieman.
Michigan State's swimming and diving team has faced a rough start this season with a 0-3 mark, but has benefited from Zieman's performances. The diving team has been leading the Spartans consistently with solid efforts from Zieman.
"We have a really strong Big Ten diving team," Zieman said. "The three seniors, Paula Buckalski, Ellen Jernstadt and I are great friends and that adds so much to our team."
Right from her arrival at MSU, Zieman has made a powerful impact on the competitiveness of the team.
"Her desire to do well for her team and her coach (makes her stand out) - she feels a great deal of responsibility and she tries to live up to that responsibility," said Narcy.
By the end of her first season, Zieman had accumulated nine first-place finishes. She was also voted the MSU most valuable athlete, the Spartans' outstanding freshman and finished 11th at the Canadian Olympic Trials. Zieman was the Spartans' top point producer at the Big Ten Championships and became the first true freshman in the Big Ten to place in the diving competition.
Zieman's second season ended with seven first-place finishes and four second-place finishes. Her constant progress is a result of her dedication and positive attitude.
"She never misses practice, always there," Narcy said. "She will do anything I ask of her. She's a real dependable person, very mature."
Zieman's tenacity earned her 13 first-place finishes in her junior year and a fourth-place finish at the NCAA zones, which placed her as first alternate for the NCAA team in the three-meter dive. She also earned a 1997-98 Academic All-Big Ten mention with a GPA of 3.00 in elementary education.
Not only has Zieman improved her overall diving scores, but has grown as a competition diver, meaning she has learned to put forth her best effort in big competitions.
"She was not always a competition diver," Narcy said. "She developed into it. She seems to be more relaxed and enjoys it more. She comes in with more confidence because of her experience."
Zieman certainly does not lack experience; she picked up the sport of diving 10 years ago after giving up gymnastics. Despite her experience, Zieman still gets nervous at meets. She does not, however, allow it to get in the way of her success. She has transferred this energy into confidence.
Zieman has demonstrated this confidence in the start of her final season as a Spartan. The idea is still the same - "just do your best." She has been working on doing just that.
"She has done more weight lifting, improved her hurdles and improved her power on the back take-off," Narcy said. "She used to be a splashy diver - we worked a lot on lining up and being able to get in clean without heavy entry."
Zieman used her skill at the 10-team Notre Dame Invitational on Dec. 3-5, when she took first place in the one-meter dive and second in the three-meter to help MSU's women's team capture fifth place.
She is moving step by step to reach her goals before the season's end.
"I want all of us to place and score at Big Tens," Zieman said. "This year I want to win the Big Tens, make the NCAA team because I missed it last year by one, and accomplish personal bests."
To accomplish these goals requires a lot of focus and determination. Zieman is aware of this and knows what she has to do in order to get the job done.
"Before I am getting ready to dive I think about my dive and what I need to focus on to do the dive well," she said. "Right before I go, I always ask Narcy for a couple of key things to think about for the dive I am going to do."
Focus has been the main element for Zieman's success. She has positioned herself as the Spartans' highest point scorer at the Big Tens for each of the past three years.
In spite of the mental aspect of the sport, it's the strength that separates the competitors. Zieman has both and that has put her on the top.
"She's powerful - she get up in the air and makes a lot of hard dives that many people can't," said Narcy.
By Courtney Welch, MSU Sports Information Student Assistant