NEEDHAM'S CAULEY EYES STATE CROWN

Author(s):    Jill Reilly Contributing Reporter Date: November 16, 1982 Page: ????? Section: SPORTS

Patty Cauley of Needham is a gymnast first, a diver second and a swimmer third. Right now, though, she is the South Sectional diving champion who'll be aiming for the state championship Saturday at Medford.

Cauley consistently comes up No. 1 in diving and she's also successful in many swim events. It's hard to figure out where her devotion lies.

"I like gymnastics the best because I've been doing it so long," said Cauley. She has been diving all her life, but she just started swimming competitively a year ago.

"Patty's amazing beacuse she hasn't had that much swimming experience," said Needham coach Ellen Moran. "She's always swum for a good time and hasn't swum AAU like many of the other swimmers.

"Patty started swimming competitvely when she got to high school. Very few divers will swim, but Patty swims whenever I ask her to," said Moran.

In 1978, Cauley was the 14-and-under state gymnastics champion. Last fall, she placed second in the South sectional diving championships. This season, Cauley finished first in Bay State League diving with a score of 216.50 points.

Each dive is scored on a scale 1 to 10 points, which is then multiplied by the degree of difficulty of the dive. Each diver completes six different times in a dual meet.

Cauley is a versatile athlete. If she is needed to swim, she may have to dive unofficially. Each athlete can only compete in one relay and two individual events. Diving is considered to be an individual event.

"If we are up against a team with good swimmers, and so-so divers, I can have Patty swim for us," said Moran. "Sometimes I have her swim the 50-meter freestyle, then go dive. We count on Patty to pull better than her best."

Cauley swims the 50 in 26.5. The Bay State League best for the 50 freestyle is 24:77, held by Karen Ehrlich of Natick.

Joe Accornero is the Needham assistant swim coach and the diving coach. But he has worked with Cauley at the Needham Pool and Racquet Club since she was eight years old.

"Divers of good quality are scarce," said Accornero. "Patty has a lot of in-born ability. She has a positive attitude and she works hard."

Cauley also works out at the Boston Area diving clinic under coach Joe Chirico. She performs dives that have a high degree of difficulty (2.0 to 2.4 while many divers around the league are performing dives of 1.7 and 1.8.

Cauley comes from a family of swimmers. Her three sisters and one brother are swimmers, and her sister Carolyn excels in tennis. Carolyn, a junior at Needham, is ranked 28th in the 16-and-under group by the New England Lawn Tennis Assn.

"Patty is a hard worker and she is in the top 15 percent of her class," said Dr. Edward Cauley. "Her gymnastics has helped her diving and I think she will do well."

Cauley is planning a career in the health field, possibly as a nurse. She has interviews at many New England colleges, such as Tufts, Boston College, University of New Hampshire and others.

She wants to compete in college, but doesn't know in which sport she'll compete.

"I've always liked gymnastics," said Cauley. "But if I do really well, in the states, I think I'll lean towards diving.

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