When the LSU women’s swimming and diving team gathered for a meeting after the Lady Tigers’ 170-130 loss to Tennessee, one of the items of business was to bestow a “game ball.” That award went to Mary Beck.The sophomore’s first meet as a Lady Tiger was memorable. She won all three of her individual events and broke a school record in the 200-yard backstroke. “It’s been a while since I’ve hit the wall and looked at my time and been really happy about it,” Beck said. “It feels good.” The sophomore transferred from California, the 2009 national champions, because she didn’t “feel like it fit.” Now she is at LSU and hopes her performance is only a sign of things to come as she joins a team where she feels like she fits.Beck’s road to LSU began when she graduated from Westlake High School a semester early. “I kind of wanted to start something new with swimming,” Beck said. “It just kind of got old after a while. I felt like I would have just been sitting around. I kind of wanted to challenge myself and go somewhere new.” New for the Austin, Texas, native was Berkeley, Calif., at the University of California. Beck’s performance helped the team to a Pac-10 and national championship. She said she got along with her coaches and her teammates but didn’t feel Berkeley was the right fit for her.”I wanted to pick a place where the environment was more like me,” Beck said. Beck decided to transfer after her first semester at California. Her father, a University alumnus, suggested they look at LSU. Aside from just her father, her grandfather and some of her uncles and aunts attended LSU.”I have that family tie, so it is nice to come down here and have that kind of connection,” Beck said.She ultimately transferred to LSU following her first semester in California. “I think she realized what we had going on over here, and she really liked it,” said LSU coach Adam Schmitt. Beck said she feels like this team is a fit. “I feel like everybody here is more like me, and I am more like them,” Beck said.Beck’s teammates feel the same way.”Mary is a real great addition to our team, not just her talent, but she has an amazing personality,” said Beck’s teammate, junior Kannon Betzon.Beck’s talent is hard to ignore.  In high school, she helped her team win two state championships in a row and set the national high school record in the 200 yard individual medley.She was also named Female Swimmer of the Year twice by Swimming World Magazine.In California, she placed fourth in the 200-yard backstroke at the Pac-10 championships and qualified in three events at the NCAA’s, helping the Golden Bears to a national championship.Her performance in her first meet as a Tiger earned her the Counsilman Hinsaker National Collegiate Swimmer-of-the-Week Honors. Even with the success, Beck is still very humble. “Everybody here and in the sport works just as hard,” she said. “Times just set people apart.”Beck said she is motivated to work so hard because she doesn’t want to have any regrets. “When I’m done swimming, I want to feel like I got as good as I can be,” she said.Beck said her goal is to get back to where she was a few years ago — on a close team and swimming fast. “I feel now with the training and being on a great team, that’s going to help me get to where I want to be,” Beck said.—————Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]