Petrilli’s entry into diving very smooth

Natalie Venegas

The transition former gymnast Christine Petrilli made from the floor

mats to the diving board elevated her beyond most beginners.

Petrilli, who has only been diving since November, has taken her

gymnastic ability and put it to use in diving by competing on the

five-, seven- and 10-meter platform, using dives most athletes wait

at least a year before attempting.

This summer, she looks forward to a pair of national meets.

The Newport Beach resident was a gymnast competing at level 10,

which is one step just below the elite level.

When Petrilli and her mother realized she was growing and her

gymnastic career was in jeopardy, she began diving.

“I thought [diving] was a lot like gymnastics,” Petrilli said.

“You couldn’t be scared in gymnastics. You were taught to go for

everything, and that was very helpful.”

Although most beginners compete at the Junior Olympic 2 or 3 level

(level 3 being the least difficult), Petrilli began at the JO 2

level, and has moved up to the JO 1 level. She trains with the

Mission Viejo Nadadores five hours a day, six days a week during the

summer.

During practices, Petrilli spends most of her time on the 10-meter

platform, flipping, twisting and somersaulting during the brief time

it takes to travel approximately 30 feet to the water.

As a sophomore at Calvary Chapel High in Santa Ana, Petrilli

finished third in the CIF Southern Section one-meter spring board

competition. She was also named All-American by the National

Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association of America.

In May, at the Taylor Divers invitational, Petrilli qualified for

the Amateur Athletic Union nationals in Florida, July 26-31. She will

compete in the one- and three-meter springboard.

This summer, she will also compete in the one- and three-meter

springboard events at the Western regionals and, potentially, in the

national zone championships that begin Thursday and conclude Sunday

in Oklahoma City, Okla.

If Petrilli finishes in the top 12 at the zone championships, she

will qualify for the junior nationals in North Carolina.

“It’s so exiting because it’s fun to see divers across the nation

and compete against them,” she said.

Petrilli is coached by K.Z. Lee, who has coached at the University

of Texas, George Washington University and the University of

Minnesota.

Lee won a bronze medal in the 1984 Olympics diving for China.

“Christine has progressed a lot faster than anyone on the team,”

Lee said. “She’s doing things not many her age are doing. She does a

very good job and hopefully she will be competing nationally.”

Lee said Petrilli’s gymnastic background has made her more

disciplined and she is always willing to try new things.

Petrilli said that because of that background, she has been able

to overcome the fear she once had of diving.

“I feel very comfortable now,” she said. “Once I go for a dive and

come back up, it feels so good to have overcome that fear.”

When thinking of the future, Petrilli hopes to continue diving and

receive a scholarship to USC.

“Diving is probably the only way I could get a scholarship,” she

said. “And I want to go to USC, which is where my dad went. I want to

keep diving through college.”