Q&A with Haley Ishimatsu

DURHAM, N.C. - Freshman diver Haley Ishimatsu is the newest recruit for the Blue Devil divers. The California native, and 2008 U.S. Olympian athlete, recently sat down with GoDuke.com to talk about the upcoming season.

GoDuke.com: What most excites you about the upcoming season?

Haley Ishimatsu: What most excited me about the upcoming season is really just the experience of collegiate competition, and just being part of a team, rather than competing by myself. It's definitely different being with a team because there are always people to support you and cheer for you when you're down and maybe not having a good meet. It's just really nice to have that support system there.

GoDuke.com: What is the most important thing to do during the summer to prepare for the start of preseason?

HI: During the summer, it's really important just to stay in shape. For divers really, at least, it's important to keep diving, and if you take a break, take it at the end of the break, not in the middle.

GoDuke.com: What are your expectations for this year's Duke Team?

HI: The expectations for this year's Duke Team are actually pretty high. Everyone is really excited about this year. The men broke into the top 20 in the NCAA last year, so we are all just really excited to do better this year.

GoDuke.com: What is the most important trait to have to be a successful at this sport?

HI: The most important trait I guess would be perseverance. You just have to keep working at it. Like in particular if you are working on a new dive, or something that you are learning, you just have to keep working on it till you perfect it.

GoDuke.com: How would you best describe Coach Johansen?

HI: I haven't really known Drew for that long, but he's an incredible coach. He focuses a lot of each aspect of the dive and that as a whole helps the dive itself to be better. Just by changing one little thing, it can change the dive completely.

GoDuke.com: What attracted you to the Duke swimming and diving program?

HI: What attracted me to the Duke swimming and diving program was obviously Drew Johansen, because he is an amazing coach. It was really the team here he had established, with divers Abby Johnston and Nick McCrory. They were already on the U.S. National Team at the World Cup this past year. Drew is just really working on putting together a great team, and I wanted to be a part of that.

Players Mentioned

Haley Ishimatsu

Abby Johnston

Nick McCrory

Duke information