Friends, teammates, competitors, sisters.
UCLA swim and dive team members Montana and Ciara Monahan are all of those things to each other. They’ve never known life to be any other way.
“We do everything together,” said older sister Montana Monahan.
Diving has been no exception.
It started when the divers moved from the East Coast to their new home in Burbank. Their new place came with a pool and a diving board, something the divers’ mother, Lisa Monahan, thought was best to put to good use. She hired a friend to come to the house and teach her daughters how to use the pool without getting hurt.
“They weren’t really good swimmers,” Lisa Monahan said. “But they liked the idea of jumping and flipping. They really took to (diving).”
After trying various other sports including cheerleading, dance, golf and most notably, gymnastics, the sisters finally found their niche with diving.
However, it wasn’t until Montana Monahan reached high school and Ciara Monahan, two years younger, was in the seventh grade that the two began to take their sport seriously. That year, Montana Monahan joined her high school diving team, and both sisters joined the Bruin Dive Team. It was the sisters’ first taste of both competitive-style diving as well as being a Bruin.
Though the venues had changed from their backyard to about a five-meter deep pool and the difficulty level had increased drastically, one thing remained the same – they were always right by each others’ sides.
By the time Ciara Monahan reached high school with her older sister, the siblings were the only members on their El Camino Real High School dive team. Being each others’ only teammates meant always having a solid support system, but the two don’t deny that it allowed for some healthy competition as well.
“That kind of comes with her being the little one and me being the big one,” Montana Monahan said. “I can’t let her outshine me – and she does want to outshine me.”
That competition proves to be a positive thing, however, as it has enabled them to feed off of each other, fueling a fire under each of them.
“When she’s having a good day, I want to have a good day,” Montana Monahan said. “When she learns something new or something clicks for her, I know I have to get on my game.”
While there is always that level of competition between each other, the sisters said they recognize that they are different kinds of divers. Their skill sets differ, as each sibling has her own area of expertise in which she excels. Montana Monahan specializes in platform dives, while Ciara Monahan shines in the springboard events. Their differences allow each sister to have her own unique strength in a sport in which they can so easily be compared.
When it came time to choose which college to attend, each sister had her own decision to make. It was an easy choice for Montana, who always knew she wanted to be a Bruin. For Ciara, the fit at UCLA made the university stand out above the rest.
“When I was looking into schools, I definitely always knew in the back of my heart that I wanted to go to UCLA. It had the perfect balance of athletics and academics,” Ciara Monahan said.
Montana Monahan, however, believes her sister’s decision had something to do with her.
“I think deep down she wanted to be with me,” Montana Monahan said.
Since arriving in Westwood, Ciara Monahan said she has taken comfort in knowing her sister is with her the same way she has always been.
“I’ve always had her around,” Ciara Monahan said. “So it’s good to go to her for advice, just to always have that support system.”
Ciara Monahan said her sister has supported her by introducing her to new people, helping her to learn to balance school and diving, and most importantly, driving her wherever she needs to go since Montana is the one with a car.
The connection and support system the Monahan sisters have created with each other both on and off the diving board can be credited back to their mother. The sisters said they recall their mother always wanting her daughters to appreciate what it means to have a sister.
“My mom always drilled the importance of how you only have one sister,” Montana Monahan said. “You’re only ever going to have that one person who is always by your side. You need to make the best of it.”
Both sisters have done just that.
Throughout all of their athletic and academic achievements, it is the bond that they have formed that their mother said she takes the most pride in.
“I’m proud of the relationship that they built for themselves with each other,” Lisa Monahan said. “I am proud to say that they live by that.”
Montana knows the time she has left being her sister’s teammate is limited. As a junior, she has less than two seasons to dive with her sister. With this season coming to an end in the next couple of months, she said she wants to to treasure every moment she has left with the one person she is closest with.
“Coming into my senior year with just one year left and having overcome all the injuries that I’ve come across, I’ve learned to just to cherish every moment,” Montana Monahan said. “Especially with her by my side.”
When the sisters pass each other on the pool deck during a meet or at practice, they have a special handshake they do with each other instinctively. This small act is a way the sisters remind each other that they are there to support their teammate, the same way they always have.