University of Massachusets Athletics
From the Deep End with...James Albanese
November 07, 2014 | Men's Swimming & Diving
The fourth installment of a weekly series where UMass Athletics catches up with members of the Swimming & Diving teams for a Question & Answer session! Next on the platform is James Albanese.
James is a freshman diver from Mercerville, N.J. where he attended The Hun School. He was named MAPL All-Prep First Team in 2012 and 2014, and won the Mercer County Championship (Jan. 2014) with a 6-dive score of 279.75.
This team is a lot bigger than any team I've ever been on. We also just hang out a lot more. A lot of my friends are swimmers, and I've never been on a team with both swimmers and divers before. It's been fun getting to know everyone on the team and cheer them on.
Where do you live, do you have a teammate as a roommate? How do you like that?
Yes, I live on campus with Chris Alpay, who is a swimmer. It's nice because we have similar schedules and I get to see him swim at meets. It's cool having all the freshmen in the dorms with us.
How do you think your adjustment to college has been? Anything you didn't expect?
The academics are pretty tough, just balancing it all together. When I have free time the last thing I want to do is a bunch of homework, but I know that I have to. Managing my time is something I've had to adjust to. Practices are also pretty tough.
Where do you go in your free time?
I usually hang out with friends somewhere, or we go into town. I go to this tea place, LimeRed, with a bunch of the swimmers. It's a fun place.
Do you have any siblings? Do they have a rivalry between them?
I have two sisters. One who is a sophomore at University of South Carolina, and the other is a sophomore in high school in my hometown in New Jersey. They play field hockey and lacrosse, mostly field hockey. They play together but they're too far apart in age to really compete against each other.
What's your favorite dive? Why?
My favorite direction and dives are backs. When I do them right, it feels great. I like fronts on one meter too. I used to do a little bit of platform.
What advice would you give incoming freshman?
I'd say make sure you're not doing it for any other reason than that you like it. If you are doing it for some other reason, you won't enjoy it. You spend so much time on it that if you don't enjoy it and have a passion for it, you won't like it at all.
What's Mandy Hixon like as a coach?
She's great. She is an awesome technical coach. She knows exactly how to fix everything. I trust her 100% with her corrections; it's just a matter of me doing them and making sure I focus on what she's telling me. She's nice, but she is hard on you when she needs to be. She really just wants us to fulfill our potential.