Few athletes get to represent their hometown, and even fewer put their name in a team’s record books their first year.
Sydney Ovesen, a freshman diver at Colorado State, impressed this year. In just her first season, she cemented her name into the program’s record books, holding scores in the top five for the 1-meter board and in the top 10 for the 3-meter board.
Ovesen hails from Fort Collins and graduated high school from Fossil Ridge. She entered the team already familiar with the program, having practiced at Moby long before becoming a Ram.
“She has practiced in this pool more often than most of the divers already on the team,” head diving coach Seth O’Dea said.
Ovesen didn’t always have her sights set on diving collegiately, though. She tried a few sports before finding her calling.
“I wasn’t always set on (diving),” Ovesen said. “I was initially a gymnast, and then I went to diving. And actually, I hated it when I first started (and) ended up quitting and joining basketball.”
After basketball didn’t fit, she was urged by family to give diving a second chance.
“That’s where I met Chris (Bergere), the old head coach here, and he kind of started introducing me to diving collegiately,” Ovesen said. “I met (Christopher Woodard) and some of the girls, and then he brought me on an official visit. And that’s kind of where I fell in love.”
Joining the CSU dive team was a natural next step for Ovesen. Her love for the sport was ignited at Moby, so it felt natural to continue her career as a Ram.
The coaches and staff were thrilled to welcome her onto the team; she was a great fit and a promising diver. From her first time at Moby, it was clear she would do big things at CSU.
“Obviously, CSU was the right fit for her, but from our standpoint, it was a pleasure,” head coach Woodard said. “I got to watch her grow as an athlete. For me, there was no hesitation. I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s somebody we want in the program.’”
Now on the team, Ovesen has proven she was the right fit.
She has had an incredible first season with the Rams, showing a lot of growth and becoming a top-performing diver as a first-year. Diving is a very mentally demanding sport, so developing a strong mindset is vital to excelling.
After suffering a concussion near the beginning of the season, Ovesen found herself struggling and falling behind early on. She needed a boost to improve her game and get back on track.
A meeting with O’Dea helped her adopt a mindset of success and brought a whole new meaning to her game.
“I started diving more for me instead of for other people, and (I) kind of realized: This is fun,” Ovesen said. “And it doesn’t really matter the result, as long as I’m happy doing what I’m doing. That’s where I kind of saw myself start to skyrocket throughout the rest of the season.”
With this knowledge, she started improving her mental game and growing her confidence.
It was at a dual with Northern Colorado where Ovesen really started growing into her own. Following that performance, her confidence has been at an all-time high, and she has been impressing at every opportunity since.
At UNC, Ovesen completed a 1-meter dive that scored 295.13 and placed No. 5 all-time for CSU.
“After that, I kind of realized, ‘Hey, I’m kind of good at this, and I should have a little bit more confidence,'” Ovesen said. “Like Seth always tells me, ‘Go into it with confidence. You’re better than you think you are,’ and I kind of finally realized, ‘Hey, maybe he’s right, and that’s what I should be doing.’”
Conference is right around the corner, and Ovesen has high hopes moving forward.
She said she hopes to make it to finals this year to finish off her impressive debut season. As a first-year, this season is just the first step; with her ambitions high, she is already on track to have a memorable collegiate career.
“I really want to make history one day,” Ovesen said.
Reach Mason Ford at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @mason_ford2891.
Interested in more sports content? Sign up for Ram Report here for weekly CSU sports updates!
