Last summer, Carroll added not one, but two Olympic divers to its rolls. As Hailey Hernandez competed in the 3-meter springboard for the United States in Tokyo, former Olympic and NCAA championship diver Anastasia Pozdniakova became the Dragons’ new dive coach.
“We are very excited to have such a highly qualified and experienced diving coach joining our staff,” head swim coach Kevin Murphy says. “The future looks very bright for our Dragon high school divers as coach Pozdniakova takes the reins of our Dragon diving program.”
I STARTED DIVING… when I was 7 years old. I was part of a small diving club in a little town called Elektrostal in Russia. Diving was pretty much the only thing to do there back then, so we kept at it and became one of the best. We loved going to different places and seeing other countries when we traveled to different meets. It was always fun and nice being together with my friends all the time.
I ENJOYED DIVING BECAUSE… it gave me an opportunity to be good at something. I grew to love it and all of the different training aspects of it, like gymnastics, tumbling, trampolining, springboarding and of course, jumping into the water. I always did the best that I could with it.
I MET UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON’S DIVING COACH JANE FIGUEIREDO… in 2003. A couple of my Russian teammates went to the University of Houston ahead of me, and she traveled with them to the Russian nationals. I didn’t know anything about colleges in the U.S., but I met her there and that was when she told me about UH’s diving program and recruited me.
DURING MY FRESHMAN YEAR… I competed at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship. I didn’t make it, but I came back stronger the year after and won two individual titles back-to-back. Then in 2008, I flew to Beijing to compete in the Summer Olympics. I ended up winning a silver medal in the 3-meter synchronized springboard competition.
IN 2010… I was named Diver Of The Year by Conference USA and the NCAA. The girls in those contests are super tough. They’re more challenging than nationals most of the time, so to be named the diver of the year in both meets in the same year is one of my proudest accomplishments.
AFTER I GRADUATED… I started coaching a junior diving club in Houston and fell in love with it. I kind of always knew I wanted to work with high school kids and help hone their skills. So in 2014, I started coaching the diving team at Spring Branch ISD and coached there for the next six years.
IN 2021… I found out there was an opening at Carroll ISD. I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity. I knew the girls were very good divers, and I was really excited to potentially work with them and develop their skills. So I applied and was hired as the head coach just before the season kicked off.
I’M VERY EXCITED… for Carroll’s diving program. Our boys and girls just took the district championship, and three of our divers also qualified for regionals. It’s been amazing watching where they’re currently at and watching them grow. Five senior girls will be leaving the team after this season, so the team will be a little bit younger next year. But I’m looking forward to working with the freshmen and sophomores on our team and building them up for the future.
I TELL MY DIVERS ALL THE TIME… do what you do and do it at your best. I’m not a numbers person. I don’t like to look at the scoreboard. If they do their best, then the results will always reflect that.