One point that is heavily focused on in practice and preparation is the mental aspect of the sport of diving. Being mentally comfortable can make all the difference when it comes to success versus failure.

“Being able to turn your mind off is pretty big,” Corneau said. “A lot of times you could scare yourself, so being able to be trapped in your body and trapped in yourself can help with some of the tougher dives. Mental toughness is extremely important.”

At the end of each meet, the diving results and swimming results are tallied together to jointly determine the team’s standing and crown a champion. On paper, swimming and diving are two sides of the same coin. But, as someone familiar with the sports would tell you, their executions are nowhere near the same plane.

“In diving, it’s still competition and you’re competing against other people,” Miller said. “But in a way you’re also competing against yourself because you’re out there trying to perform the best dive that you can.”

Relay races, freestyles, and breaststrokes aren’t the only requirements to field a solid swimming and diving squad. What happens on the boards is just as important in determining who comes out on top.

—Staff writer Jed Rothstein can be reached at jrothstein@college.harvard.edu.