For the first time in Sidwell’s history, sibling divers place first at the same championship meet.

Sidwell Friends has had some winning divers over the years, but never siblings and never at the same meet. In February, siblings Desi Amprey ‘25 and Beau Amprey ‘28 both took first place at the DCSAA Diving Championship and Isabel Merideth ‘27—a swimmer and now a diver, too—placed second in the Girls Championship. Desi rounded out her high school diving career at Sidwell with three first-place diving championships, missing out on a potential fourth due to a broken elbow her sophomore year. The Amprey siblings join past Sidwell state diving champions Olivia Grinker ‘12, Bennett Magliato ‘15, and Amanda Blong Schiff ‘02 who each won several titles during their time on the Sidwell Swimming and Diving team.

Desi and Beau started diving the same year when Desi was 13 and Beau 9. After six years of gymnastics, Desi wanted to try a new sport. What she remembers most about transitioning from gymnastics to diving was that diving felt more smooth and weightless than gymnastics, which she describes as faster, more forceful. After years of gymnastics, which can be tough on the body. Desi felt burned out and thought diving would be a natural transition. And a natural she became. Beau, with only one year of gymnastics under his belt, decided to give diving a try, too. “It was really fun for Beau and me to start learning together. Diving really clicked for him and he got better more quickly. We were a bit competitive with each other, but mostly I was really happy for him. And then we both found our strides,” says Desi. 

Beau has loved following in his sister’s footsteps. “We used to fight a lot, but once we started diving and spending so much time together—even coaching each other—we got really close,” he says.

Desi and Beau gained some new support at Sidwell Friends this year when Amanda Leizman, a recent graduate and diver for the University of Virginia, was hired as the diving coach under second-year head coach Meghan Farrell. During her first three years at the Upper School, Desi was the only diver on the Sidwell team. This year she was joined not only by her brother, but also by Merideth.

“I think it must have been tough for Desi to be the only diver on the Sidwell team for three years,” says Farrell. “There was no coach for her, but she wanted to compete for Sidwell and to make a positive impact, which she certainly has.” 

The Amprey siblings developed their diving skills at the Dominion Dive Club in Oakton, Virginia. Their two daily practices there usually included time in the pool and on the board as well as “dry land practices,” which involved trampolines and harnesses, boards and mats, and strengthening and conditioning. “The dry land practices help with spatial awareness,” says Desi. “They help you get comfortable with the tucks, pikes, and twists before you try them in the pool.”

Desi’s favorite dive is an inward two and a half, which she starts from a backward standing takeoff position before rotating forward and completing two and a half somersaults before breaking the surface of the water. Beau enjoys the front two and a half pike, which starts with a walk/jump on the board—facing forward—before executing a front flip and two somersaults. “Desi and Beau are both incredibly athletic and graceful divers,” says Farrell.

Desi acknowledges the physical effort, but says that the biggest challenge lies elsewhere. “Diving is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical,” she says. But when she compares diving to the pressure of her former sport, gymnastics, she comes down squarely on the side of diving. “I found that there was less pressure than in gymnastics, where you get one attempt for your uneven bars, vault, balance beam, and floor routines. If you mess up there, it’s done. With diving, if you have a less-than-perfect dive, it’s not the end of the world. You learn to just let it go and move onto the next dive. It’s almost like your brain resets and now you have a chance to do a completely new dive. It’s sort of freeing.”

When Beau heads to the board to dive in a competition, he empties his mind. “In practice, as you dive over and over, you’re in your head, focusing on all the different skills and techniques for each dive,” he says. “During a meet, I try not to think too much. My body knows what to do; it’s all about muscle memory. Diving is a very repetitive sport, a perfectionist sport, really, but it’s so rewarding.”

Although Desi does not plan to dive in college—she may join a less competitive club team—she relishes the feeling of being in the air. “Once you take flight, there is this feeling of free fall, of peace, and then once the dive is done, you feel the validation and adrenaline of having learned and accomplished something.”

Beau does hope to dive in college, which is partly why he puts so much time and effort into the sport. He plans, one day, to master the reverse three and a half on the three-meter board—a college- and olympic-level dive. In the meantime, amidst a lot of hard work and discipline, he enjoys the moment when his feet leave the board, when he twists and flips and flies then breaks the water with seeming effortlessness. “Sometimes, even before you have surfaced after a dive, you know you’ve ripped it,” he says. “And there’s no better feeling than that.”

With the addition of Leizman as the diving coach, there is great energy around expanding the Sidwell team even though Desi will be graduating in June. “I hope Sidwell will recruit more divers to join the team, like Isabel has. I’m so excited she joined, and Beau, of course, and I hope more kids will,” says Desi.  She adds that she also hopes that younger girls and aspiring divers will see how fun and fulfilling diving has been for her, how meaningful it can be on a team that celebrates each other through their individual events, especially young Black girls who don’t often see a lot of Black divers in the sport.

“I’m excited to see the team grow and especially how Beau develops as a diver,” says Desi. “We got super close the last few years since we had lots of time in the car to and from practices to talk and bond. We sort of have our own diving language now. I think he’ll miss me next year.”