My favorite memory of the club was probably my first JOs in 2005. I was 10 years old and JOs were based in San Jose. Teddy Minnis was my coach and we had so much fun at that tournament. We had secret buddy gift exchanges, and we also had this mascot. It was a stuffed animal dog with a pom pom attached to its head wearing a Stanford t-shirt. Our games were held at the Santa Clara Swim Center and we played in the diving well. The diving well had windows on the side of the pool so you were able to see what was going on under water.

Diablo was our rival

I went to Sacred Heart Prep for high school and I currently go to UC San Diego for college.

I was playing polo in college, but unfortunately my career was cut short due to a knee injury. My head coach hired me on as a Student Assistant Coach so now I get to travel with the team and help with coaching.

Teddy Minnis always told us to eat a banana right after practice or a game. I have continued to do this after every practice and game since I was 12 years old. Teddy always told us that we needed to refuel our bodies with potassium and this is great advice to any athlete.

When I was in 7th grade, the women’s NCAA Championships were held at Stanford, so girls on the club team were able to volunteer to work the tournament. I volunteered as ball girl, so I was able to watch some incredible water polo and meet a lot of the college players. I idolized these girls and wanted to play college water polo just like them. At the
start of one of the games, Kelsey Holshouser, who used to play for Stanford, asked me if I was having a good time and told me that one day I would be playing in this tournament. This last year, the women’s NCAA Championships were being held at Stanford again and sure enough my team made it into the tournament. I couldn’t believe how my water polo career had come full circle and I was able to live out my dreams.

In my free time I love to play the ukulele and sing. I also love to bake!

We used to go on an all club trip called the Bus Trip. The whole club would travel on a couple of buses to SoCal and we would play in a tournament there. This was so much fun because the whole club got together so the younger girls were able to hang out with the older girls. Also, Commerce used to come on a training trip that Stanford hosted and the Commerce girls would stay with Stanford families. This was really fun because we got to hang out and become friends with the Commerce girls. Sometimes national teams from around the world would come to train at Stanford during the summer so we would hold a potluck for them. This is when we would have the bake-offs too. The year the Puerto Rican team came, they judged the bake-off which was so cool!

Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the reunion anymore because of a work conflict. I am so bummed because I was really excited to see everyone and to participate in the bake-off!