Tseng Takes Home Bronze in Asian Age Group Championships
Senior Joyce Tseng didn’t see international competition in her future when she tried out for the Exeter diving team last winter. After 11 years of gymnastics training at her previous school, Tseng decided to try her hand at diving when she got to campus. Now, not even a year later, she has returned from the Asian Age Group Games with a bronze medal.
Tseng’s rise to success has been unexpected and meteoric. “I’ve actually only been diving for four months total,” Tseng said. “At my old school, I was a gymnast for 11 years. But when I came to Exeter, there was no gymnastics team, so I thought that I would try diving. It ended up working out. Over the summer, I was just training back home in Thailand, and I got recruited to the junior national team, and they invited me to this meet.”
Tseng left campus last week to compete in the games. She participated in the one meter individual dive event, as well as working with her partner to pull off a third place finish in the three meter synchronized dive. The hasty transition from Exeter life to international competition wasn’t easy for Tseng. On top of intense training and make-up work, Tseng also had to deal with an 11 hour time change. “It was a hectic week. The time difference was terrible,” Tseng said. “But, it was really a once in a lifetime opportunity. To see people who have Olympic ambitions was incredible, and to be considered in the same pool as them was completely overwhelming.”
“I’ve actually only been diving for four months total.”
However, she is glad to be back on campus training on her own in preparation for the winter season. Tseng is a huge asset to the Big Red diving team, and her presence on the team is greatly appreciated by players and coaches alike. “Joyce is a great teammate, always striving to do her very best to help the team on an individual level as well as helping others perfect their form,” upper and teammate Gustavo Santos said of Tseng. “There were countless times last year when I knew that I could count on Joyce to be honest and help me with my form when I was trying to perfect a dive.”
Santos went on to describe Tseng’s powerful work ethic and her intense drive to succeed at each and every one of her endeavours. “Joyce showed up every day, on time, ready to grind and earn her spot on the team,” Santos said. “I remember one day when she was working on a backwards double somersault, she smacked time and time again, just getting drilled by the water, but she didn’t quit until she got it down. She competed at the very next meet with that same dive.”
Head diving coach Jean Farnum agreed with Santos, stating that Tseng has “made great strides” since the inception of her diving career. “ I’m looking forward to having her compete in our upcoming season and beyond,” Farnum said. “Her accomplishments are truly inspirational.”