Paulina Holmberg is a senior at Pepperdine and a standout on the diving team. She recently broke the school record in the 1-meter event, while also qualifying for the NCAA Zone Championships, which take place early next month. We caught up with Paulina to discuss her impressive diving career and her future plans after she graduates this spring:

Q: What's next after you graduate from Pepperdine?

A: After I graduate from Pepperdine, I am applying to PA (Physicians Assistant) school in April, and then hopefully I will start school in January or next fall. 

Q: The team's last home meet was Senior Day, which was a pretty special event. What was it like going through that?

A: It was really fun! My family was here and my best and her family were here, and we just had such a big crowd, and usually, diving doesn't get a crowd. It was great because I have been through so many different teams with different teammates throughout my four years, and I just never thought I would make it to senior day. I thought I was going to be done a while ago, but everything came together, and it feels really good to finish it out. 

Q: What are your hopes for the PCSC Championships coming up?

A: For diving, I am very confident that we are going to dominate. Our biggest competition is Azusa Pacific, and we had a dual meet against them on senior day, and we did very well.  

Q: You qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving event. When is that taking place and how do you feel about it going in?

A: Lexie Martin and I are going to the NCAA Zone Championships, and we're really excited to represent Pepperdine. The competition is March 7-9, and we're just competing in the 1-meter. It feels kind of low stress because the 3-meter is typically the more stressful event, so we only have to train the 1-meter. The other schools competing are really talented, and there are about 60 people competing, so it's going to be a different experience. It will be fun to compete alongside really talented divers. 

Q: You set a school record in the 1-meter diving earlier this season in San Diego. What was your initial reaction?

A: Initially, I was just thinking about making Zones, with 265 being the cutoff to qualify, and the school record was 259. I knew if I made Zones then it would be like a double whammy of qualifying and breaking a school record, so it was really fun. 

Q: How did you start diving?

A: I grew up doing trampoline, and I was an elite trampolinist and national champion my senior year of high school. I was kind of burnt out from that, and I knew I wanted to come to Pepperdine, but I didn't dive in high school. I started diving the summer before my freshman year at Pepperdine, and the records show I was not breaking any history freshman year, so I put in a lot of work. 

Q: What made you decide to come to Pepperdine?

A: I really liked the smaller school aspect and the sports medicine major was intriguing to me, along with being far from home. 

Q: Do you have a favorite memory from this season?

A: At the San Diego meet when I broke the school record, there were two rounds. I qualified for zones during the first round, then my teammate Lexie also made the cut during the second round. It was really exciting because I didn't want to go alone and she made it by .5, which is unheard of.  

Q: Who inspires you?

A: Honestly, my coach Monique (Demaisip) inspires me. She is a really good diver, and is brilliant; she's a Northwestern graduate, chemical engineer, then continued to dive internationally after college. She has just a really good balance of understanding and kindness, and I think we just get along really well. Monique is just a little older than me, so I can see myself in what she has done.