The Stanford men’s diving program was buzzing with excitement last year when it landed the top two high school recruits in the country. Now, that excitement is shifting into results as Kristian Ipsen and Connor Kuremsky are in the middle of their freshman collegiate seasons and already impressing teammates and coaches alike.

 
Coming into the season as the No. 1 recruit in the country, Ipsen had already made a name for himself on the national and international scenes. Among his many accomplishments, Ipsen is a 16-time junior national champion, eight-time senior national champion, three-time word junior world champion and a silver medalist at the 2009 World Championships. All of these accolades came flooding in before he even took a single step on the diving board for the Cardinal.

 

“Kristian is just excellent,” said head diving coach Rick Schavone. “I’m awed by it. Our goal is for him to qualify for the 2012 Olympics and then medal at the 2016 Olympics. He’s making some sacrifices this year as a freshman because he has to balance the collegiate season with his USOC (United States Olympic Committee) commitments.

 

“He could be the greatest talent since [Gregory] Louganis,” explained Schavone, a three-time NCAA Coach of the Year, coach of eight NCAA team championships and developer of 89 All-American honors. “On the men’s side, he is definitely the most well-accomplished diver we’ve ever had coming in. No one comes close to him.”

 

It’s an unexaggerated, yet lofty compliment, considering that Louganis won four Olympic gold medals and five World Championship titles in the 1980s.

 

And yet the No. 2 recruit, Kuremsky, has his own lengthy list of accomplishments. He finished second at the 2007 Junior National Championships in the 1-meter springboard and placed in the top three at the 2009 Junior National Championships in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events. And he has also competed well on the international stage, finishing fifth at the 2007 Junior Pan American Games.

 

“Connor might not be as accomplished as Kristian coming in, but he’s definitely up there, too,” Schavone said. “He’s of that caliber. Connor’s progress in this past month has really taken off and he’s improved just as much as Kristian has.”

 

Ipsen and Kuremsky have not only benefited from each other’s presence, but also by being part of the team as a whole.

 

“I feel like when you train with anybody, regardless of their ability level, you can watch them and implement the things you learn into your own diving,” Kuremsky said. “I honestly think that by working with everyone on the team, let alone Kristian, I’m able to improve myself.”

 

Despite the success on the board both divers share, they come from very different training backgrounds. This has forced Schavone to implement different approaches for each diver.

 

“Kristian came from a minimal training background and did not have a great deal of pool accessibility,” Schavone said. “We’re trying to build the foundation and revisit the basics so that he can compete at even higher levels. Connor, on the other hand, comes from a solid program. His basics are excellent. But I want to improve his dynamics, so that he’ll be more powerful and explode better off the board.”

 

Both Ipsen and Kuremsky were quick to credit their coach for constructing an exciting and supportive atmosphere in which the transition has been almost seamless. They’re also aware of the progress they’ve made over the past few months training under Schavone’s practice regimen.

 

“Before coming here, I had a limited number of hours for practice, and I would have to rush through it,” Ipsen said. “There’s more flexibility here, and I think that’s been beneficial.”

 

Kuremsky agreed.

 

“For me, the transition has been easy,” he said. “Everyone here is really supportive of each other. Coach Schavone…has made practice fun, rather than something you don’t want to do. He also focuses on breaking diving down into simple movements — movements that anyone, not just divers, can do. That makes things easier.”

 

The veterans on the team have also helped make things easier for the freshmen divers. Kuremsky noted that the upperclassmen have been very helpful, particularly with academic advice, and Ipsen also cited their helpful role outside practice.

 

“It’s nice to have many people on the team who are older than us,” Ipsen said. “They show us the ropes, how college diving works and what certain corrections to make. And we can ask them about anything, not just about diving.”

 

Schavone expressed no doubts about how well the freshmen have fit into the team, as well as the overall team chemistry.

 

“We have an amazing men’s team, probably the best we’ve ever had,” he said. “We have five guys who’ve competed at senior nationals. The basic core of our team is sophomores and freshmen. They fit together great and take bonding trips. They like each other and work hard as a team.”

 

The diving duo is excited and optimistic as the rest of the season unfolds.

 

“I’m looking forward to the team atmosphere. We’re all striving for the same thing, and there’s people to support you even when you have a setback,” Kuremsky said.

 

Ipsen was happy just to be able to get into the whole process of competition at the collegiate level.

 

“I’m excited to travel with the team to the meets. I’ve been so excited to be involved in collegiate diving, and now I’m finally part of it.”

 

Their stories are even more intertwined than you might expect; Ipsen and Kuremsky have known each other for a long time — since well before Stanford, and even before high school. They first met at the Junior Pan-Pacific meet when they were just twelve years old. Since then, they’ve seen each other at national meets and on recruiting trips throughout years.

 

And now, finally, they’re Cardinal teammates.