SPORTS
GAMES IN REVIEW BASEBALL vs. DePauw University W, 15-6
MEN’S TENNIS vs. Principia College L, 9-0
Freshman Lexi Blackburn practices at Franklin Community Middle School. She is the first female diver from the college to compete at the NCAA DIII Regionals. ZOIE RICHEY | PHOTO
BLACKBURN COMPETES AT NCAA DIVING CHAMPIONSHIP Diver talks broken records and history in the making BRANDON BARGER | STORY brandon.barger@franklincollege.edu
March, known as Women’s History Month, is a time to reflect on the achievements made by women not only in America, but around the world. At Franklin College, one woman’s history is making waves in the pool. After winning gold at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship and silver at the Liberal Arts Championship, freshman Lexi Blackburn became the first female diver from Franklin College to compete at the NCAA Division III Regional Diving Championship. At the beginning of the season, Blackburn created a list of everything she wanted to accomplish. “I made a goal sheet so that I would go into practice wanting those goals, really striving for something more than just, ‘Ah, I want to win conference,’” she said. As the season continued, she started to check more and more of that list off. As Blackburn’s time rolled into the championship schedule, she and the diving team kept up the pace they had all season. When it was announced that Blackburn had made it into the regional championships, she was not surprised, considering she took home HCAC Diver of the Year award. What did surprise her was the broken record that accompanied her invitation to the championship.
Head coach Andrew Hendricks founded the swimming and diving team in 2008. Having been with the team since its conception, Hendricks verified Blackburn as the first female to compete at that level. For assistant coach Dee Woods, this moment can be summed up with one word. “Pride is the first word that comes to mind,” she said. “I was so proud of Lexi and her accomplishments. It was a joy to see her do what she loves and succeed at it.” For Blackburn’s teammates, it is also a big moment. Her male diving counterpart, junior Will Combs, paralleled her experiences when he made it to the regional championship as the first diver in Franklin College diving’s seven-year history to compete there. “It is really important to understand that our program is growing and really solid,” Combs said. “Having both a male and a female make it to regionals for the first time is a really big deal.” While Blackburn still wants to break more records during her time here at Franklin, she does have some advice for the next generation of female divers. “Diving is about 98 percent mental. So, you have to go in with a really positive attitude, which I learned from Dee [Woods],” she said. “It is really important to have that attitude when doing dives so that you can go in and get it done.”
WOMEN’S TENNIS vs. Principia College W, 7-2 SOFTBALL vs. Kalamazoo College L, 10-9 MEN’S GOLF 2nd of 4 Franklin College Spring Invite
UPCOMING GAMES SOFTBALL 3/16 vs. Capital College MEN’S TENNIS 3/17 vs. Thomas More College
MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD 3/17, Rose-Hulman Early Bird
WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD 3/17, Rose-Hulman Early Bird
WOMEN’S TENNIS 3/17 vs. Thomas More College BASEBALL 3/17 vs. Capital College