Senior Danielle Fritze is Dartmouth diving.
No one else on the team even comes close to matching her career achievements, but on Jan. 5, Fritze emerged as a bonafide diving powerhouse.
Fritze etched her name into Big Green diving lore with a dazzling performance against Northeastern when she set school records in both the one-meter and three-meter events.
She eclipsed the marks of her former teammate and role model, Courtney duBois '99.
"It was best meet of the season, my best meet ever," Fritze said. "I felt good, and I knew I was close to the record."
Considering the career she's had, it's almost surprising Fritze didn't break the records sooner.
Ever since Fritze began diving prior to her eighth grade year, she has been good. By only her sophomore year at Dartmouth, Fritze had not only been voted the Big Green's outstanding diver, but she had also qualified for the NCAA Zone 1 diving championship. She did it again as a junior.
In both 1999 and 2000 she was named recipient of the Ron Keenhold Award as the school's outstanding diver, an honor that the senior co-captain is sure to obtain again this season. Over the course of the 2001-2002 season, Fritze is undefeated in competition on both the one-meter and three-meter boards.
"Danielle has never failed to impress me, both in and out of the pool," Kala Sherman-Presser '03 added.
"Each year, her diving has just gotten better and better. She is one of the brightest, hardest working, most motivated people I have ever met. She brings the team up to an entirely new level."
Truly, Fritze's big day in Boston made a considerable impact on her team as well.
"The work that Danielle has put in to break the records encourages the rest of the team to give the record board a makeover," Kelly Cameron '04 said.
Fritze not only contributes to the team in the pool, but also as a captain and a leader. Her dedication and attitude have made an indelible impact on her teammates.
"She's a really great team player," Kristen LeFevre '02 said. "Danielle does a really great job holding the swimmers and divers together as a group. She's always really enthusiastic about and interested in all of her teammates, whether they compete on the boards or in the pool."
The praise just keeps on coming no matter who you talk to.
"Danielle carries herself with a rare combination of enthusiasm, integrity, and ambition, and she has always been a welcome source of positive energy for the team," Lauren Gilhooly '04 said.
Even though she seems to grab all the headlines, Fritze is devoid of any aloofness or arrogance.
Her self-proclaimed role on the team is as an "encourager." She prefers to talk about her team rather than her own achievements.
"I'm really happy with the way things are going with the team," she says. "It's great to see people working really hard together. The team is very cohesive."
Fritze is one of the main reasons for that cohesiveness.
"She puts everyone else on the team before herself, and is a constant support," fellow senior co-captain Julie Hasson said.
Lindsay Nicholls, also a senior co-captain, concurred. "She is the type of person who takes everything in stride; she excels in everything she does, but doesn't let any of that go to her head. She's very down to earth, which just attracts others to her."
Fritze's love of the pool is infectious, and her association with diving will not end when she graduates.
"I can't see giving it up," she said. "I've fallen more and more in love with it."
Unfortunately for her teammates, her love will have to manifest itself somewhere else next year.
"I can't imagine Dartmouth women's swimming and diving without her," said Sherman-Presser. "She will be sorely missed next year."
Fritze excels outside of the diving arena as well. She is a double major in Chemistry and French, and she recently tallied an incredible score of 44 on her MCATS.
"She is very inspirational, not only as a diver, but as a student and a person," adds Nicholls.
As tremendous an impact as Fritze has made on the Dartmouth swimming and diving program in her four years here through her terrific successes in competitions, it is still only part of the story.
Her selfless attitude and ability to act as an effective role model for her teammates have undoubtedly paid dividends for the Big Green swimmers and divers in both training and in competition, and will continue to help the team progress in the future.
She has already done quite a bit, though.
"I can't say enough good things about her," adds Hasson.
"I think everyone on our team is a better person, athlete, competitor, and friend, for having spent one or four years with Danielle."
Fritze and her teammates take to the pool on Saturday when they battle Ivy foe Columbia.
The Big Green will face the Lions in the friendly confines of Karl Michael Pool at noon.
