Every time junior diver Andrew Suchla steps on the board, he’s dedicating his dive to his biggest fan — his grandfather.
“My grandpa was my biggest fan, and in my senior year of high school, he passed away,” Suchla said. “Ever since then, I’ve dedicated all of my diving to him.”
For Suchla, it seems as though his biggest fan watches out for him. After transferring to LSU prior to the 2014-2015 season from the University of Wisconsin, where he emerged as one of the top competitors in the Big Ten, Suchla made a literal splash for the Tigers.
Last season, Suchla made the final for the one-meter and three-meter at zones. He also made the Southeastern Conference Championship finals and finished sixth in the three-meter dive. Suchla said competing in the SEC finals was the highlight of his career.
“It was incredible. I felt nothing else,” Suchla said. “I was so in the moment and so happy, it just felt incredible to be there. It was the best meet I’d had all year. My training was at a peak right there, and it felt really good to be doing the best I could.”
Despite his pride of making it to the SEC finals, the feeling is bittersweet for Suchla, who fell short of making it to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. But he said not making it last season just added fuel to his fire, and he trained all summer with the intention of going to the NCAA Championships this time around.
“He’s on track to have a great season and great career at LSU,” LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said. “I think he has a very realistic, probable shot at qualifying for the NCAA Championship. I think he can score there. He just needs to keep continuing what he’s doing.”
Suchla’s accomplishments aren’t limited to those in the pool. He said he’s proud of recently being named a captain to the team he calls a big, happy family that pushes each other to make sure they’re working as hard as they can.
LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer credits Suchla as being a team player, trying to bring both aspects of the sport together.
“Andrew is great,” Geyer said. “He’s really into the team aspect of the sport of bringing swimming and diving together. Last year, for him to finish top-eight at one of the events of the SEC Championships was a great step for him. I think we’re ready to see what else can come out of him.”
Suchla, who recently finished as the top male diver in the Purple & Gold Intrasquad meet, will continue to train in the hopes of making it to the promised land this season. Along the way, he hopes to put up big numbers at the SEC Championships, a meet he admits is harder than the Big Ten Championships.
“SEC, I’ll admit, is a little bit louder,” Suchla said. “It’s a lot crazier here, the competition is a little harder. It makes it a good challenge for me, and I like it.”