Emma Ng Pack got her first look at the pool inside the Greensboro Aquatics Center in North Carolina on Tuesday and took a moment to let it all sink in.
The multiple concussions, her battle with COVID-19, bouts of vertigo that left her not knowing where she was in a pool — all were things of the past.
In this moment, at the site of the NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships beginning today, the 2020 Punahou alumna felt a great sense of pride.
“You’re like, ‘Wow, this is it,’ the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps junior diver said. “I can’t believe I made it here. It’s pretty crazy.”
A year after falling one place short of qualifying for the NCAA championships, Ng Pack has finally made it to the biggest meet of the year in women’s diving.
She qualified by winning the 3-meter dive and finishing second in the 1-meter at the NCAA Division III Diving Regionals at the end of last month.
A year ago, she finished fourth in the 1-meter and seventh in the 3-meter, leaving her one place out of qualifying.
“I was pretty bummed about not being able to go because it has been a dream of mine since high school,” Ng Pack said. “(Qualifying) this year was such an incredible moment for me.”
With her brothers in attendance at regionals, Ng Pack showed the fruit of all of the hard work that has led her to this point.
The giant scoreboard next to the pool made it impossible not to know the scores as the competition went along.
Ng Pack noticed her name staying at the top after each dive. It ended up remaining there throughout the entire 3-meter event.
“I honestly couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I guess I just underestimated myself in a sense, because I’m very hard on myself. But it was such a great feeling knowing I really did put my heart and soul into doing my best and it worked out.”
Her journey to the NCAA championships in diving began with an idea from her mom, Monica.
She was a swimmer and a gymnast growing up when Mom had the brilliant idea to do both at the same time.
In a way, that’s what diving is. Once a diver leaves the board it’s a mad rush over a few seconds to get whatever twists and turns you can get in in time before landing straight into a pool.
It’s a sport that takes hours and hours of repetition to perfect each dive.
In a moment, it seems like a quick and easy routine. But the reality is a sport that is every bit as taxing physically as it is mentally.
“It’s a tough sport. When you impact with the water in the wrong way, it can cause a lot of problems,” Ng Pack said. “And not only do you have to be 100 percent there physically, but mentally it’s really tough. If you’re not ready to go and if you don’t have enough confidence in yourself and you’re not in the right mindset, a lot of things can go wrong.”
Ng Pack has had moments of vertigo on the diving board when she didn’t know where she was. She’d dive into the water and then not know where the surface is for her to get to to breathe.
She’s also suffered multiple concussions, including one that made her miss conference championships as a sophomore.
The grind has been tough, and there were moments along the way she wondered if she should continue on, but she battled through.
“I’m very hard on myself and my coach this year would ask me, ‘Practice makes what?’ and I’d say ‘perfect,’ and he would be like no, ‘Practice makes improvement,’ ” Ng Pack said. “It’s a little quote I keep in mind because for me, practice makes perfect and if I’m not perfect than I am not doing good enough.”
That is why missing the cut for NCAAs last year was such a big deal. Ng Pack stayed home longer than normal this Christmas break for a variety of reasons and missed training camp and a lot of quality time normally reserved for bonding with her teammates.
She called the past two years a roller coaster, but when she steps on the board for her first dive today, the dips and valleys are all gone.
She’ll stand on that board like she’s on top of the world.
“I would tell my dad I’m not doing well enough and he would say the best is all I’m asking for and if you’re trying your best, that’s all I ever want,” Ng Pack said. “Getting here has helped me shift my attitude because instead of feeling like I have to be hard on myself all of the time and put so much pressure on myself, I’ve learned at the end of the day as long as I try my best I have to be proud of myself for that.”
EMMA NG PACK
>> School: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
>> Class: Junior
>> Events: Dive
>> High school: Punahou (2020)
