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Off the springboard
Freshman diver soars to new heights
By Jack Peterson
P.J. Rongitsch may be one of the most talented people you'll meet at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
He was the starting long snapper for the Eastview (Minn.) High School football team, spent three years on his school's honor roll and also played guitar for a popular Eagan, Minn.-based rock band named "Harbor."
On top of all of his talents, there is one main reason P.J. is here in Milwaukee: Diving. Rongitsch springing off the diving board is reminiscent of Superman. His high school diving résumé includes three All-Conference selections, two All-State selections and two All-American honors.
While not winning on the diving boards, P.J. spends his free time in his dorm jamming on his Fender American Stratocaster. He first got into guitar early in his school years when his friend had a concert that he attended.
"After watching my friends band I asked my mom for a guitar for my birthday," P.J. says. Pure rock ‘n’ roll ensued.
He does more than just reduce adoring female fans to tears with his beautiful strumming. Sometimes you may see a dark shadow climbing the dorms at night. That is P.J. demonstrating his stellar rock-climbing ability. One day he was shopping at a local sporting goods store where they had a rock wall set up.
"I climbed the wall and immediately began some free-lance stuff, and boulders," P.J. says.
During high school P.J. received major interest from different universities throughout the country including Minnesota, Dartmouth and Illinois-Chicago. He chose UWM for a few reasons.
"I really enjoyed the campus here, and the dorms,” P.J. says. “I love the ocean so I liked how close we are to Lake Michigan. I also appreciate the big city because of all the job opportunities that surround me for my post-college life."
So far this season the diving team has had one meet: a double-dual competition with Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. During this meet, P.J. finished 8th on the one-meter event with a score of 169.80, and 10th on the three-meter, behind Panther stalwarts Corey Kupfer and Kyle Luska. As far as the team goes, he has pretty large expectations.
"I expect the men's (swimming and diving) team will finish around third in the Horizon League, and the women will end up second," P.J. says.
Rongitsch has a humorous side as well. When asked which superhero he would take on a date and why, he says, "I would probably have to choose Superwoman, and I would take her to the Planet Krypton because she would get to relax and feel normal around Superman.”
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