DIVING AMBITION NU'S PETERSON SET SIGHTS ON NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP

Author(s):    Susan Bickelhaupt, Globe Staff Date: March 4, 1998 Page: C6 Section: Sports

Cindy Peterson used to fly off the uneven bars, twist and spin in the air, and land all her flips feet first. On a mat.

Now she lands headfirst. In water. That's because the Northeastern senior spent her life honing the skills of gymnastics until an injury sidelined her five years ago. So she gave up the balance beam for the diving board and is now in line to go to the NCAA Division 1 championships for the second year in a row.

Two weeks ago, Peterson finished first in both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard dives in the America East championships. On March 14, she will compete in the regionals at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. If she places in the top three (as she did last year), Peterson will go to the nationals later this month at the University of Minnesota.

Peterson, 21, grew up in Nashua, N.H., and had been doing gymnastics "since I was in kindergarten." Over the years, the 5-foot-4-inch athlete became a star on the uneven bars, vault, and balance beam, twice becoming state champion and a Globe New Hampshire All-Scholastic.

As for diving, well, it was only a vague thought. She had tried it when she was 11 years old and suffered a stress fracture in her lower back that kept her away from gymnastics. "So I did it for a season in eighth grade just to try something new, and I hated it," she said. "But I didn't really concentrate and went back to gymnastics next season." Not a bad move, considering that she went on to compete in the Junior Olympics when she was 15 and 16.

But there was a price to pay, and at the end of her junior year, Peterson was hurt again. This time it was a broken wrist that eventually required three operations. Actually, Peterson spent most of the season playing in pain because she didn't realize how hurt she was.

"I'm not even sure what caused it because it started hurting in December and they didn't find out what it was until May. It was misdiagnosed," said Peterson, rolling her eyes. "They thought it was tendinitis."

As college loomed, Peterson found herself with a dilemma. She had been accepted at Towson State in Maryland on a gymnastics scholarship but couldn't -- and still can't -- bend her right wrist back. Her tumbling days were over, and Peterson was forced to rethink her athletic ambitions.

So a month before college, she pulled out her swimsuit and resurrected her diving career.

"If I couldn't do gymnastics, I didn't know what to do with myself," she said. "So I started diving."

Peterson went to a swimming club in Westford and asked the coach, Larry Sawyer, to help her get in shape.

"He coached me for two weeks, and I got him to teach me all the dives I needed to compete in college," she said. Then she flew to Towson State, went up to the diving team, and said, "Hi, I'm here."

It turns out Sawyer was doing more than just coaching Peterson. Picking up on her potential, he made a videotape of her and sent it to Joe Chirico, the Northeastern swimming coach who is now at Boston College.

He invited her to the team's training camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and that helped her make up her mind. In the second semester of her freshman year, she transferred to Northeastern and has been making marks on the collegiate diving scene ever since.

Now on a full-tuition scholarship, Peterson has not only placed first in the past three America East championships but at last year's meet beat the records in the 1- and 3-meter dives that had been set by Northeastern's Dana Kozimar in 1991.

"Cindy has set records on most of the pools she's gone to," said coach Brad Snodgrass. "Her forte is that she's doing all the difficult dives, the ones I did when I was in college, and she does them as good or better than most men."

On a recent afternoon, Snodgrass stood on the deck at the Northeastern pool while Peterson and Jenna Postar, a diver Snodgrass coaches at Tufts, spent an hour and a half climbing up the 1- and 3-meter boards, walking to the end, bouncing up and down, and diving in. As they swam to the side and climbed out, they looked to Snodgrass, who shouted encouragement and criticism.

"Cindy, try to ride the board" . . . "That's good, but not real high" . . . "Keep those knees really hyperextended," Snodgrass said as Peterson and Postar took turns doing 2 1/2-gainers and reverse 2 1/2-tuck dives.

Snodgrass is convinced that "gymnastics absolutely helped" Peterson, even though he's seen a lot of high-level gymnasts who can't make the transition. The slow bouncing on the board, the timing of the flips in the air, the precise body position that judges look for, and above all, the headfirst landing add up to a dramatically different sport.

As for Peterson, the brace she wears on her right wrist when she dives is a reminder of her gymnastics days. But, asked if she misses it, she quickly answered, "No. No more."

"I don't think I could have handled it in college. It took so much time that I didn't have a life," she said. "But here my whole team are my friends. It's a relief to come here, to get away from my job and from school."

Peterson, a biology major who has a coop job at Upstate Biotechnology in Waltham, thinks about pursuing a career in diet and nutrition after graduating next spring. But the Olympics are on the horizon, too.

"I'd love to make it to the Olympic trials with these meets," she said of her upcoming competitions. "If you make it to the nationals and come in the top eight, then they invite you to international meets, and if you do well, they invite you to the Olympic trials."

A lot of "ifs" are involved, but Snodgrass is optimistic. "She placed 12th and 14th last year in the nationals, so we'd be happy with the same and would be thrilled if it was better," he said.

Meanwhile, Peterson keeps diving while Snodgrass keeps reminding her to jump higher and tuck tighter.

© Copyright 2003 New York Times Company