After sitting out the 2013-2014 season, redshirt junior diver Rachel Mumma has returned to competition with the NC State women’s swimming and diving team without missing a step. 

Her contributions, even this early in the season, have been a huge part for the women’s success.

Mumma started diving when she was 8 years old and has thrived in the sport ever since, first accumulating accolades in high school at Cedar Cliff in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. 

Not only did she earn four varsity letters in swimming and diving, but she also excelled in field hockey where she received three more varsity letters. Starting with her sophomore year, she placed third in the PIAA Class AAA state championships and only went up from there, placing second her junior year and winning first her senior year. 

When graduation came around, Mumma said she chose to continue to use her diving skills in college and enter NC State.

“I always knew I wanted to dive in college,” Mumma said. “And NC State’s campus was beautiful; the team was great, and I just felt like it was a good fit for me personally.”

As a freshman, Mumma qualified for the NCAA Zone B diving Championships on the one-meter and three-meter diving boards and posted the team’s second-best mark on the one-meter board. She also recorded 11 top-five finishes to sum up her first year competing for the Wolfpack.

The 2012-13 season only brought Mumma more triumph in the diving scene. She led the team in several one-meter dives, including a total of 308.02 with 6 dives, and an 11-dive total of 319.85. 

Mumma also posted a team second best score in the three-meter (6 dives) and second best from three-meters (11 dives), and she also scored second highest on the team platform in both the eleven and five dive.

After competing for so many years and exceeding in the sport, Mumma had to adjust during her redshirt season last year. 

“It was weird at first not competing,” Mumma said. “I wanted to focus more on academics and to also improve and learn more dives.”

Despite taking a year off, the sabbatical in no way slowed down Mumma’s success. 

“I’m glad to be back in competition,” the redshirt junior said. “I’ve been ready.” 

In her first meet of the season at the All North Carolina Invitational, she earned ACC Female Diver of the Week honors after finishing first overall in the one and three-meter competition and recorded two NCAA Zone scores, contributing to the women’s team’s first-place finish in the meet. 

Last weekend, Mumma traveled with a small group of swimmers from the women’s team to Dallas for the Morning Dallas Classic. Mumma again contributed, placing third in the women’s one-meter with a score of 292.9 and fourth in the three-meter with a total of 276.7.

“For just the beginning of the season, my last few dives have felt pretty good, and I’m just getting back into things,” Mumma said. “But I want to return to NCAA again this year and place top-three at ACC’s.” 

The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania native understands the importance of hard work in and out of the pool. Mumma is majoring in Parks and Recreation Tourism Management and noted that finding a balance between diving and schoolwork is a challenge.

“It’s a lot of time management,” Mumma said. “We have set practice time, so you know when you have to get your work done.” 

Next, Rachel will be competing with the Wolfpack in Atlanta, Georgia in the meet against Georgia Tech and Florida State Oct. 25.