In a span of six days during November, sophomore Phoebe LaMay put herself atop the Cal record book, not just in one event, but two.
 
On Nov. 11 at Spieker Aquatics Center, LaMay won the 1-meter diving competition in a dual meet vs. Texas when she scored 314.18 points. Less than a week later at the Texas Diving Invitational in Austin, she totaled 335.80 on the 3-meter springboard for another school record.
 
As a result, LaMay earned Pac-12 Diver of the Month honors, becoming the first Golden Bear to receive the honor in nearly three years. And while the award has been a rarity for Cal divers in the past, LaMay is on a trajectory that could see it come Berkeley's way far more often.
 
"She's been working hard," diving coach Derek Starks said. "She's always been very talented and very strong, and she's been on that national level for quite some time. Just fine tuning the actions she already has, has been our main focus. She has high goals and expectations for the year and my job is to help her work toward those."
 
A qualifier for the NCAA Championships as a freshman last season on 1-meter, LaMay finished 22nd at the national meet and hopes to use that experience for greater results down the road. The next big step will be at USA Diving Winter National Championships starting this Thursday in Columbus, Ohio, which will serve as the qualifying meet for the 2017 World University Games, among other international competitions.
 
After her successful initial season at Cal, LaMay and Starks have turned much of their attention to mental preparation, offering up meet situations in practice and throwing out various distractions to help keep her zeroed in. Learning controlled breathing techniques is also a key work habit for her.
 
"Her mental strength is where she's putting the most focus," Starks said. "That's been the biggest contributor to why she's done well these last couple of meets, too. She's allowed herself to go from being a little bit worried about getting into the season and expectations she's set on herself to being able to focus on her dives and enjoy them."
 
Already, the results are showing. LaMay has exhibited more consistency in her dives, which has been another point of emphasis this season.
 
"We look at the whole picture," LaMay said. "We look at what dives you did well and which dives you didn't do well. We look at what you've improved on. Obviously, your score as a whole tells whether you've improved. And we look at where you placed with all the other divers."
 
LaMay arrived at Cal in the fall of 2015 out of Houston as a two-time Texas state high school champion. She had twice finished among the top 11 on 1-meter at the U.S. championships and had seen quite a bit of success in synchronized diving, earning a gold medal on 3-meter at the 2011 junior national meet and a bronze at the 2011 Pan Am Junior championships.
 
Before becoming a diver, LaMay participated in gymnastics for about 10 years, starting when she was 2 years old. She tried diving in sixth grade and made the switch from the mat to the water rather quickly.
 
"It was easier on my body and I really loved it," LaMay said. "It's an individual sport, but at the same time, it's a team sport. It's really fun to push your teammates and have them push you."
 
Now in her sophomore season at Cal, LaMay relishes that team atmosphere. And at her current rate, it may just take her to even greater heights.