Sophomore Elyse Brouillette made a huge splash on the diving team last season.

As a freshman, she posted top-10 scores in school history on all three boards and was named Iowa State’s Most Valuable Diver and Newcomer of the Year. She also earned All-Big 12 honors in the 1-meter and platform events and was the only ISU diver to compete in NCAA Zone “D” Championship, the qualifying meet for the NCAA Championships.

“She came from a strong program and I knew she was coming in ready,” said ISU coach Jeff Warrick. “She did an excellent job for us all season long.”

With all the success Brouillette had last season, it’s easy to overlook fellow ISU diver Jessica Henderson, a senior and two-time captain who was forced to sit out much of her junior year after suffering a concussion.

As a sophomore, Henderson competed in the NCAA Zone competition and qualified for the competition again as a junior before the injury cut her season short.

“My junior year just kind of disappeared into thin air, but I’m ready to come back, and I think it gave me more fire for this year to beat [Elyse] out for that first position,” Henderson said.

At the team’s intrasquad meet on Friday, Henderson won the 1-meter event ahead of Brouillette and the rest of the ISU divers. Henderson also won the 3-meter, which Brouillette sat out due to a shoulder injury with which she has been dealing.

The two divers have developed a friendly rivalry with one another, constantly trying to one up each other’s scores.

“It’s a good battle,” Brouillette said. “We like to push each other and it makes the meet a little more interesting.”

Henderson also acknowledged the friendly competition.

“She is a great diver,” Henderson said in regards to Brouillette. “She challenges me every day in practice and pushes me to be a better diver and I hope I do the same for her.”

As with any rivalry, each athlete wants to be the best.

Yet the two teammates have so much respect for each other they both claim the other is actually the better diver of the two, which fuels both athletes.

“I think that Elyse is the better diver,” Henderson said, quickly adding, “But I’m going to be the better diver.”

When it comes down to it, both Henderson and Brouillette are teammates and want to see each other do well. Both divers have goals of making it to the NCAA diving championship, and being there with a friend and teammate would make it that much sweeter.

“If we can get two divers to the NCAA Championships that would be fantastic,” Warrick said.