BEST GETS BETTER KOZIMOR REFINES HER DIVING SKILLS

Author(s):    Bob Monahan, Globe Staff Date: November 28, 1989 Page: 32 Section: SPORTS

Northeastern diver Dana Kozimor has a problem. When you are the best in your area, how do you get better?

"You just work at it and try to improve," says the junior from Westford who owns NU diving records off both the 1- and 3-meter boards. She stood on the 3-meter board at Cabot Gymnasium recently. She tested the board with a few jumps. Then she took her position for the start of a dive.

For a moment, she was as still as if made of marble.

She drew a breath and took a couple of steps forward. Near the end of the board, she bounced a bit, came down on the board, then lifted off as though she were bound for the stars. Her body twisted like a top, and in a flash she was knifing through the water.

When her head popped out of the water, a teammate yelled, "That looked like a 10 to me."

Kozimor smiled. She knew she had made a good dive.

She continued the ritual for two hours, diving off both boards.

"Dana is the best diver we ever had," says NU head swimming coach Janet Swanson. "In diving competition, you have either three or five judges, and they usually are tough. Dana was the first Northeastern diver ever to get an 8.5 in the 1-meter dive and once she got a 10 in the 3-meter dive."

While in grammar school, Kozimor joined the Boston Area Diving Team. She was coached by Joe Chirico, who also is the coach at Northeastern.

"Dana wanted to stay in the Greater Boston area," says Swanson. "She visited here, liked the co-op plan and the courses offered and decided to come. I'm certainly glad she did."

Last year, NU had one of the best 1-2 diving punches with smarts and talent in New England -- Kozimor and Michelle White from Arlington. Both were named to the Academic All-America team.

Kozimor won the 1- and 3-meter events in the New Englands and in the Easterns.

Last March, she and White competed in the NCAA Division 1 championships in Indianapolis, where Kozimor finished 17th.

"In order for Dana and Michelle to be named to the Academic All-America team, they had to meet three requirements," explained Swanson. "First they had to compete in the Nationals, have a grade index of at least 3.5 and take at least 20 hours of courses a week. That isn't an easy task. But they did it. And I expect Dana to repeat."

Right now, Kozimor is on the co-op part of her term, working for Exxon in Everett. In her last grading term, she had a 3.6 average in mechanical engineering.

In last year's nationals, Kozimor was the only sophomore and competed against two former Olympic divers and eight seniors. She was cited as the best diver in Zone A (New England, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia). Nevertheless, she wasn't satisfied with her 17th-place finish.

"I know I wasn't diving my best out there," she says. "I think I should have done better. But the competition was keen and I was just a sophomore. This year I've set a goal to finish among the top eight. I'm working at it."

Kozimor was interested in gymnastics as a child, and it was while attending a summer camp at the Westford Swimming and Tennis Club that she decided to swim and dive. Coach Chirico watched her dive and was impressed.

"Joe gave me some tips," she says. "Then he entered me in a small meet and I won in my class. I learned body control doing gymnastics and that helped me as a diver. I've been diving since. I've been working with Joe eight years now. We're thinking about the regular season, the nationals and just peaking at the next Olympics."

On her current schedule, Kozimor gets up at 6:30 a.m., makes it to the Exxon plant by 7:30, works until 5 p.m., and by 6 p.m. is in the pool for 2-2 1/2 hours.

"It's a long day, but I work with good people and I have good teammates," she says. "But to tell the truth, I'll be glad when I get back in the classroom. I'll have a shorter day and get more sleep.

"I still have a lot of work to do. My two-and-a-halfs inward and reverse dives off the high board are good, but I have to work on my three-and-a-half, which is my hardest event. I'll work at it.

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