Spring Break
Hynes concludes illustrious career
Alex Falk
Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: Sports
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Hynes won the NCAA consolation finals of the 2009 Swimming & Diving Championships March 21 at the Student Rec Center Natatorium at Texas A&M University in College Park, Texas, which placed her ninth in the nation.
"I dove to my potential at such a difficult meet which is always what I strive for," Hynes said. "I had a great time at my last collegiate meet and I could not have asked for a better way to finish."
With that victory, Hynes gained All-America status.
"Diving is a subjective sport, and these are a very elite bunch of girls," head diving coach Larry May said of Hynes' competition. "She is very happy with placing ninth in that meet. She just stepped it up a notch and beat a girl that was in the Olympics last year."
"I was pretty shocked when I saw that I had beat Jenna Dyrer," Hynes said. "She is an amazing diver, and it was a huge confidence boost to have it confirmed that I belonged at such a high level."
Hynes was by far the best diver Drexel University has ever seen.
Coach May now has to think about the gaping whole on next years roster.
"Hopefully her accomplishments will lay the foreground and allow me to recruit some future Kate Hynes," May said.
The four-time Colonial Athletic Association Diver of the Year award winner performed at the highest level and has left a legacy that will never be forgotten.
"Will we ever have another Kate Hynes? I don't think so; I don't think there will ever be another Kate Hynes," May said. "We've been fortunate that we've been able to get divers to the NCAA championships. I hope we have another diver. Kate's been a great student, a great athlete and a great ambassador for Drexel as well."
To attain her honorable mention All-America status, Hynes had to place in the bottom half of the top 16 divers in the NCAA championships.
By winning the consolation finals, she cemented herself as a top collegiate diver.
"It was complete validation for all my hardwork over the last fifteen years," Hynes said.
"Any one of those girls were capable of being in any position in the top 16," May said. "There has never been another female athlete at Drexel to accomplish with what [Hynes] has done."
May also went on to talk about Hynes' competition at the NCAA championships.
"It was an extremely tough field of competitors. Three of them were Olympians in last year's Olympics," May said.
Another one of her history making statistics is the fact that not only did she attain All-America status as a diver this past season, but she did it as a swimmer as well.
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