Admittedly, freshman diver Cassie Weil had high expectations entering her first collegiate season, but she still can’t wrap her head around what’s flashed on the scoreboard.
Heralded as one of the top female divers in the nation and one of coach Doug Shaffer’s most prized recruits, Weil started her LSU career on a tear, winning five of her first six competitions while shattering a school record in the process.
A 17-time Junior National finalist, four-time Senior National qualifier and two-time Senior National finalist, Weil has surprised even herself with the gaudy numbers she’s consistently put up to begin the season.
“I was expecting to place how I was, but I wasn’t expecting to get the scores I’ve been getting,” Weil said. “I thought I’d be really sore and slower.”
Following in the footsteps of sophomore teammate Alex Bettridge, who had a breakout freshman season of her own last year, Weil said she strives to keep pace with her teammate both in practice and in competition.
“When I go to meets, she’s the person I look up to and she’s the person I want to beat,” Weil said. “That’s my goal: to beat Alex, because she’s really good and did really good last year.”
Heeding her own advice, Weil kept pace, and then some, in her first collegiate appearance, shattering Bettridge’s program record in the 3-meter dive by almost six points and scoring 18 of the LSU’s 78.5 points in a dual meet loss to Auburn.
Friends since before they came to Baton Rouge, Weil and Bettridge both said the competition they share is a healthy one, prompting Bettridge to be at her best from day one.
“Last year, I started off pretty slow,” Bettridge said. “Now with her here, I know I have to get into it faster than I normally would. I have to start doing my dives a lot better, a lot faster.”
Calling the situation a coach’s dream, Shaffer said he’s noticed a higher intensity in practice between both divers.
“They’re fierce competitors,” Shaffer said. “You see the fire burning in Alex with Cassie having stepped out in front a little bit. That’s positive and healthy.”
Weil said her adjustment from home in Hillsboro, Ore. has been seamless, except for the weight training, which she wasn’t accustomed to in high school.
Filled with lofty goals for the postseason according to Shaffer, Weil will look to equal or better Bettridge’s stellar 2011 NCAA Championships, where she was an honorable mention All-American on the 3-meter and was named Southeastern Conference Freshman Diver of the Year.
“She’s got high goals for the championship season,” Shaffer said. “She’s using every opportunity that she can to better [herself].”
While Bettridge said she’s still a bit flattered that Weil looks up to her, she issued a warning to her young teammate about the meets to come.
“Last year was really good for me, so you’d want to come in and beat me, but now I want to beat her,” Bettridge said.
