Fatsi makes last splashes as a Tartan

As senior diver Eli Fatsi competes in his last season on the men’s swimming and diving team, he reflected on his athletic career at Carnegie Mellon. Fatsi is earning his bachelor’s degree in the Mellon College of Science as a math major.

Fatsi’s interest in swimming and diving began at a young age.

“All the neighborhood kids were on the swim team at the local pool every summer back in elementary school,” Fatsi said. “Swimming was way too hard, so I dove for a few years back then.”

Despite this interest, Fatsi did not start diving competitively until his junior year of high school, when he joined the team with his friend. “It was just for fun. I never thought I would actually be diving in college,” he said.

As a Carnegie Mellon athlete, Fatsi felt that being on a varsity team was a particularly rewarding experience. “It’s been awesome being a part of something for all four years [of college] but still having the time to enjoy everything else I love to do,” he said. “Seeing how far we’ve all progressed since we showed up as freshmen, it’s pretty remarkable.”

Fatsi has made a lot of progress since his first year at college; he even made nationals last year. With this feat, the diver now has lofty goals for himself during his final season. “Personally, I’m shooting for nationals; fellow senior Mike Alexovich and I made cuts last year, but didn’t make it to the meet,” Fatsi said.

Specifically, Fatsi has high expectations for the team and has set tremendous personal goals for the rest of the season. “With so many freshman on the team, it would be great to take second place at UAA’s again and set the standard for them,” Fatsi said. “If Emory wasn’t so darn ridiculous, first place would be the goal, but they’re incredible.”

Fatsi explained that post-graduation he will primarily miss being on an athletic team. “I can’t imagine I’ll be around diving at all once I graduate, so I’ll clearly miss that. It’s kind of a kid sport,” he said.

Reflecting on the team’s leadership, Fatsi noted that he will also miss the diving coach after the season is over. “My coach, Alicia Gorman, is incredible as well. It’ll be sad not to have her around looking out for me,” Fatsi said.

Gorman agreed, saying that she will miss having Fatsi on the team. “Eli brings a lot of fun and focus to our team,” Gorman said. “Over the past four years he has pushed himself to the next level on a daily basis. He is a hard worker and all of his work is paying off. He always comes to practice with a smile and has fun no matter what he is doing. He has been a true pleasure to coach and I have enjoyed seeing him reach his goals.”

Fatsi reflected on his proudest moment throughout the course of his athletic career: “Last year, senior Mike Alexovich and I took down the school records last year at UAAs. He got the one-meter record and I took the three-meter one; we’ve both been the perfect competition for each other over the years, so taking down the records together was a pretty awesome moment.”

After graduation, Fatsi wants to cater to his adventurous side by skiing, mountain biking, kayaking, backpacking, and climbing in Colorado. He would also like put his degree in math to good use. “I would like to make money programming somehow, like Aron Ralston but hopefully not too much like Aron Ralston,” he joked.