After two years of doing double duty for her high school team in Elk River, Laura Ryan decided to leave swimming behind and concentrate on diving. The Georgia senior got a reminder last fall of why that was such a wise choice.
Bulldogs coach Jack Bauerle invited Ryan to anchor the 200-yard freestyle relay in a dual meet against Emory, just for fun. "It was probably the hardest thing I've ever done,'' said Ryan, who became the first Georgia diver to compete as a swimmer in recent history. "I couldn't get out of the water afterward, which was a little embarrassing.''
Put her on the board, though, and she makes it look easy. This week, in the pool where she used to train, Ryan reached the pinnacle of her chosen sport at the NCAA women's swimming and diving championships. Ryan won the 1-meter title Thursday, earning her first NCAA championship, and followed up with a second title Friday in the 3-meter event at University Aquatic Center.
Two years after transferring from Indiana, Ryan became the first Georgia diver to win an NCAA crown. Her performances have contributed 40 points to the Bulldogs' total as they race toward their second consecutive NCAA team title. She will compete in platform Saturday, wrapping up the meet — and her college career — in the place where she laid the groundwork for this memorable week.
"This is where I started diving for the first time,'' said Ryan, a two-time Southeastern Conference champ on the 3-meter board. "To have my collegiate career end right where it started, you can't ask for anything more exciting than that.
"This is where I practiced growing up. It feels like home. When I found out [the site of the NCAA meet], I thought, 'Wow, this is going to be amazing to have all my family and friends here, just like all the state tournaments.' It just brings back a lot of memories.''
This trip helped Ryan make some more. She will end her Georgia career with four school records and was selected diver of the meet at the SEC championships, where she also finished second in platform and third in 1-meter.
Ryan started out as a swimmer, then began diving because she thought it looked like fun. After two seasons of doing both, she decided she was likely to achieve more in diving. She won a state high school title in 2007, but a serious shoulder injury that required surgery put the brakes on her career a year later.