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53 R edshirt junior Abby Grilli has gone through a transformation with University of Iowa diving program and her biggest gains have come in her mental approach away from the pool. "Abby has always been a physically talented diver," said UI head coach Todd Waikel. "From the time I got here until now, she has progressed so much it has been amazing to see. It has been as much mentally as physically." Grilli's growth can be traced to Waikel. Since his arrival prior to the 2012-13 season, the mental aspect of diving has been stressed daily, and Grilli bought in. "e mental work happens every day in practice because you can't just show up in a meet and expect it to be there," said Waikel. "Abby has taken it to heart and put the skills into place." In competitions a number of things can throw off a dive — a bad hurdle, takeoff or start — but those things don't faze Grilli. "She doesn't hit the panic button," said Waikel. "She sticks with the game plan in the dive and can still manage to get good dives in." Grilli redshirted during her first season as a Hawkeye in 2010-11 before posting 12 top-five finishes during her first collegiate season in 2011- 12. As a sophomore — her first under Waikel — she posted NCAA Zone qualifying scores on the 1-meter and 3-meter events, where she went on to finish 11th on the 1-meter with 537.80 points. is season, Grilli has been one of Iowa's top divers from the on-set of the season, tallying nine top-three finishes in six competitions. She leads the Hawkeyes on the 3-meter with a season-best of 336.97 points and is second to Joelle Christy on the 1-meter with 297.83 points. "I am a lot more confident during meets, confident I can hit my dives and I am able to do it," she said. "at comes with the experience I have learned throughout my entire diving career." Grilli has been rewarded for her consistency, earning three Big Ten Diver of the Week distinctions. She is the first Iowa diver since Nancilea Underwood in 2004-05 to earn at least three weekly awards in the same season. Her first career honor came Nov. 19 aer she won the 1-meter and finished third on the 3-meter in dual victories over South Dakota State and Nebraska. She received a second accolade Dec. 17 aer posting a first and second place finish in the Hawkeyes' Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series victory over Iowa State, and she garnered a third distinction Jan. 21, courtesy of a pair of runner-up finishes in quad against Illinois, Indiana and Missouri. "One of my strengths has been my consistency in meets and practice, and that's only growing," she said. "Being more comfortable at meets and being more confident is helping me out." Grilli has already posted qualifying scores for the 2014 NCAA Zone Diving Championships on March 10-12 in Minneapolis -- a place that Waikel says will require an even greater amount of consistency to have continued success. "She needs to be consistent in the heat of battle, that's what it will come down to," he said. "When the pressure is high and you have seven judges staring at you, are you able to perform? at's what we're working toward. I think she will; I think she'll do great." She'll do great because of her mental toughness. Grilli is 1 (Mentally) Tough Diver By James Allan