My Signature: Attitude of Gratitude Propels Marissa Roth

Marissa Roth made history at the SEC Championships in Athens, Ga., on Feb. 22, where she became only the second women’s platform diving champion in South Carolina history. After studying international business and a study abroad, Roth enrolled in the Master’s in International Business program at the Darla Moore School of Business and took a year off from competing to focus on that before returning to the pool this year.  The senior from Signal Mountain, Tenn., was atop the leaderboard going into her final dive at SECs and clinched the win with a back 2 1/2 somersault tuck off the seven-meter platform.

On the last dive I got up there and thought, “I know I can do this!”

(Head Diving Coach) Todd (Sherritt) came up to me and told me I had to see my spots. I looked at him and said, “I’ve got this.” I’ve never done that before.  I just had this feeling that it was going to be a good dive. 

I was feeling good and my warmup was great. I got into this mode where I would stand up there and see all of the pockets of my teammates down below. My mom was in the stands, and I was thinking that this is the coolest experience I’ve ever had. I remember thinking, there’s nothing better than the Gamecock swim team!

I had no idea where I was in the rankings. Normally I’m a big scoreboard watcher. I had decided in that moment that I was just going to go out and have fun.

I knew when I hit the water that I was happy with it. My feet were a little flat, but I was happy with it. My second dive earlier, the back-twister, was a bigger dive to get in the water. That was a key element of my dive list.

I had to wait for the other divers to finish before I knew (who had won). Honestly, the diving community is so close that you want everyone to succeed. I love cheering on my teammates and the other team.  Todd and I were standing there, and we were both getting excited. It was pretty nerve-wracking. You can’t control anything at that point.

It wasn’t until the last diver went, that I realized what was happening. It was amazing. I never actually thought about winning an SEC title. You see other people do it all the time, but when it’s you, wow! You walk through and hug everybody!

“There’s nothing better than standing up there and seeing all the people who helped make that possible, standing there cheering for you.”
 – Marissa  Roth

I was filled with so much gratitude. I wouldn’t be here without the support of my coaches and my teammates. Diving seems like an individual sport, but Gamecock Athletics has given us so much. It was awesome. This program has given me every opportunity to succeed.

Todd took me on as an athlete knowing I’d have a lot of work to do. There were hard days. There were moments when you wake up and working hard is really hard! This made every moment worth it.

I think I was in shock on the podium. It was a really big deal. It was great to see how all the training we had done paid off, and we were successful. It’s cool to see how basics just change your diving. I’m so grateful for the support of my teammates.

There’s nothing better than standing up there and seeing all the people who helped make that possible, standing there cheering for you.

I’ve struggled with confidence in the past, but hopefully this will pave the way for me. I’m excited to know that there will be a lot of hard work to be done for the rest of my life in whatever job I do, but knowing that the hard work is worth it, that’s something that will stick with me. I’m so happy that I get to look back fondly on this last year that was graciously given to me.

I see this athletics door closing and this other door opening, so I want to look back on these moments fondly. The SEC Championships were the icing on the cake.