Decision to dive paying dividends
This article appeared in the St. Petersburg Times on Aug. 24, 2001.
By STEVE LEE
NEW PORT RICHEY -- For Michelle Mendonca, diving, pole vaulting and gymnastics go hand in hand.
Well, used to go hand in hand.
The Gulf sophomore has given up gymnastics and will not concentrate on pole vaulting until track season. That leaves diving as her sole focus.
"She's been in gymnastics ever since she was little and she's not afraid to do anything on the (1-meter spring) board," Buccaneers coach Linda Cassidy said.
This summer, Mendonca honed her mid-air twisting and plunges into the pool at two diving camps with hopes of improving on last year's performance.
Mendonca placed third at the Sunshine Athletic Conference and Class 2A, District 3 meets. She also qualified for the state meet, where she finished 30th.
"She was nervous," Cassidy said of Mendonca's state performance in Orlando. "Most kids are that have never been to a big meet."
"It gave me more confidence," Mendonca said of advancing further than all her teammates except fellow divers Mike Rowe and Jacob Vaughn.
Mendonca said she hopes the camps, coupled with her background in other sports, will help her challenge for district and conference titles and compete at state again.
A measuring yardstick comes Sept. 26 when Gulf hosts River Ridge. The Royal Knights' Karisa Marshall, a senior, won last year's conference title.
"She's got beautiful form and she's a very hard worker," Cassidy said of Mendonca.
Gulf diving coach Jerry Mancuso predicts an even better year.
"Right now, she's pretty much where she left off last year," Mancuso said. "She knows that we have four Pinellas County schools in our district, so to make states she has to work extra hard."
Gulf is in a realigned district that includes Countryside, Dunedin, East Lake and Tarpon Springs.
