North Carolina State University Athletics
Poolside with Erin Bailey and Amber O'Reilly
2/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Swimming
Feb. 20, 2003
Four years later, Erin Bailey and Amber O'Reilly can attest that the old addage isn't true: friends do make good roommates. And fortunately for the Wolfpack Swimming & Diving team, roommates make good teammates too.
As the curtain closes on the senior seasons of four-year roommates and teammates Bailey and O'Reilly, the two promise not to let the curtain close on the friendship that they have developed during their tenure at NC State.
"We'll definitely keep in touch," says Bailey, a perenial ACC finalist and school 1-meter record holder. "What people say isn't so true, friends can make it as roommates."
Bailey and O'Reilly both got their starts in diving from gymnastics. Between the two, they have 12 years of experience doing the same twists and turns they are now doing in the pool, in a gym. The pair competed against one another in high school and through club diving competition, and recognized each other when they took their official visit to NC State in the fall of 1998.
"It was good to see a familiar face," says O'Reilly. "We got each other excited about the prospect of coming to NC State and decided that we would be roommates when we enrolled."
Five years later, the two have become an intimidating force on the boards in the ACC. Bailey and O'Reilly are two of the squads four divers that have qualified for the NCAA Zone Championships to be held in March. Looming in the more immediate future for the squad - the ACC Championships.
All one-meter action will be held today, then preliminary action on the three-meter will take place Friday, with finals to follow Saturday.
Both have high expectations entering this year's conference championships. "We really hope to have three divers in the finals of each event," says Bailey.
