On April 16, Virginia Tech diving coach Ron Piemonte was at a Zone meet in Germantown, Md., with diver Mikey McDonald when he got word on the shooting on back at the school’s Blackburg, Va., campus.

He and McDonald, a Virginia Tech freshman, watched the day’s bloody aftermath unfold on television.

When it was over, Virginia Tech senior Seung Hoi Cho had shot and killed 32 people, including himself, and wounded 25 others in the deadliest shooting in modern history.

“It was so surreal,” Piemonte said his week while again en route to Maryland for another Zone meet.

“I was watching television and saying, ‘There’s the pool. There’s my office. There’s the sidewalk I use to walk to work.

“It hit pretty close to home.”

Piemonte told McDonald he did not have to compete that day. They could head back to Blacksburg.

“He said he wanted to dive and show his Hokie pride,” Piemonte said. “He said, ‘I want to compete for Virginia Tech.’”

McDonald went on to finish sixth on the 3-meter springboard, a result Piemonte calls “remarkable,” considering the circumstances.

Even more remarkable, he said, was the reaction to what was almost unimaginable horror.

“I think it showed what kind of community Blacksburg is,” Piemonte said. It’s amazing how a tragedy can bring a community together.”

Piemonte had not long been a member of that community when the massacre took place.

For six years, Piemonte had been the coach of the Moss Farms Diving program before he was named as the Hokies diving coach following last year’s Summer East Championships, held at the Moose Moss Aquatic Center.

It has been a smooth transition so far, Piemonte said.

“I realized when I was a club coach how much I missed this (college) environment,” he said. “It’s great to be back at the collegiate level.

“Here, everything is not so individual. Everything here is for the team. It’s, did you score for the team?”

Having McDonald on his team has helped Piemonte’s transition.

The rising sophomore is the son of George Mason University diving coach Roland McDonald, but elected to dive for Piemonte.

“He’s been diving for so long, but he is so into the sport,” Piemonte said. “He’s fun to coach, he’s got a great attitude and he does what he’s supposed to do, and more.

“He’s a fun kid to be around and he’s going to be a help as recruiting goes on.”

Piemonte got a bit of late start recruiting last year, but has added two new girls and one guy for this year’s team, although he says he missed out on one he really wanted — Moss Farms’ Hannah Moore, who signed with Georgia.

“We’re going to get better and better,” he said. “The swim coach and administration have been real supportive.”

Recruiting may be easier once a new swimming and diving facility in completed on campus. It is slated to open next year.

Piemonte says that although the SEC is considered the top swimming and diving conference, the ACC might be a bit overlooked.

“It’s getting stronger and stronger,” he said.

Piemonte also has started an age-group team and already has 25 youngsters involved.

McDonald, of course, is the cornerstone of the group. But two of Piemonte’s children also are beginning to cut their diving teeth.

At last week’s Summer East Championships in Rockville, Md., Ronnie Piemonte finished sixth on 1-meter in the 13-and-under age group to qualify for Junior Nationals.

“He’s really starting to get it now,” Piemonte said of his son.

Leah did not qualify on either board, although she was 16th — the top 12 advance to Junior Nationals — on 3-meter.

This is her first year in 13-and-under.

“Leah’s diving very, very well,” her father said. “She was just a little short on DD (degree of difficulty) on 3-meter.

“And on 1-meter, she just had a rough day. She scored 50 points less than she did at Regionals.”

The Piemontes have settled in in the Blacksburg area, survived what was really a mild winter in the mountains and appear to be making Virginia home.

In fact, Piemonte used a phrase that many employ when describing Moultrie: “This is really a great place to raise a family.”