Maple Grove diving coach Stacey Benjamin calls senior Lexi Tenenbaum "my little freak of nature" for Tenenbaum's mastery of difficult dives.
But Tenenbaum struggled with some of those dives during last week's Class 2A meet at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center, chipping away at her typical high scores and allowing the competition to draw uncomfortably closer.
Facing a make-or-break final dive, Tenenbaum chose familiarity over flash. Tenenbaum went with a back 1 1/2 somersaults, 1 1/2 twists. Her score clinched the 1-meter diving title with 448.35 points. She finished seventh as a sophomore and fourth last season.
"It was kind of nail-biting coming down to that last dive," Benjamin said. "But she pulled through under pressure."
The victory capped an undefeated season during which Tenenbaum reset pool records by a diver at Anoka, Elk River, Minnetonka and at the True Team, Northwest Suburban Conference and Section 7 meets.
Tenenbuam, who committed to dive for Minnesota, spoke with Star Tribune reporter David La Vaque about quitting gymnastics to focus and diving and capturing the state title.
Q Talk about your decision to leave gymnastics after last season to focus on diving.
A I was a competitive gymnast most of my life. But I started to like diving more than gymnastics. Plus, it was way less hard on my body. So I joined a diving club. I knew right away I made the right decision. I was happy to focus on diving and I had more time on my hands.
