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131 T odd Waikel points to a two-year plan when freshmen divers arrive on the University of Iowa campus for them to grow, develop, and get accustomed to the competitiveness of NCAA Division I diving. Sam Tamborski accelerated that plan when she earned a spot in the NCAA Championships during her first season as a Hawkeye. "I knew she was going to be good," said Waikel. "She got to where I thought she could be good sooner than that, which was awesome." Tamborski's ascension was remarkable considering her inexperience in diving. e Castle Rock, Colorado, native didn't start diving until she was 13 years old, but she had a gymnastics background to fall back on. She started in gymnastics when she was 4 and continued through age 13. When one of Tamborski's friends started diving, it piqued her interest. "I knew it was like gymnastics, and I loved flipping, but gymnastics hurt my body," said Tamborski. "I wanted to try something new. "I started at a recreation center in a diving class and I wasn't good. I wanted to get more serious, so I started club diving. at was different because of the intensity and we practiced every day of the week, but I liked it." ere was frustration along the way. "I knew I wasn't good because I was just starting," said Tamborski. "Coming from gymnastics, I was pretty good, so I was used to getting good scores. When I started diving, it was a hard transition. It was motivating because I knew I wanted to get better, so I worked even harder." She started on the 1-meter in rec diving and then added 3-meter when she joined the club program. She added the platform to her arsenal in high school when they went to the Air Force Academy to train. "e first time I jumped off," said Tamborski. "I screamed all the way down." Tamborski improved at a rapid pace, becoming a 1-meter and 3-meter regional champion in 2017 and a USA Diving national finalist off the tower. In 2018, she was a USA Diving finalist off 1-meter and placed 13th off 3-meter and platform. She was a high school All-American as a junior and senior and the 2018 Colorado Diver of the Year. "Once I got more serious in club diving, my coaches were like, 'You can actually do something with this,'" said Tamborski. "When I was progressing fast because of gymnastics, I was so self-motivated. I knew I wanted to keep going. "When I was a junior I started talking to colleges and I sent out a mass email to schools across the country. My coach said (Waikel) emailed and was interested. I took one of my four visits (to Iowa City), and it felt like home." Tamborski used her junior experience with USA Diving as motivation. "In USA Diving, I knew there was a large group (of divers) that was always at the top," she said. "I wanted to be there. Coming into college that was motivating for me." Tamborski posted NCAA Zone Diving standards off 1-meter and 3-meter springboard as a freshman. She was the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Dec. 12 and went on to finish 10th off the 3-meter at the Big Ten Championships. From there, she placed 11th off the 3-meter at the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships.