April 6, 2009

BERKELEY - With a father who won a national title in men's water polo at California and competed on the Olympic team, two cousins on the men's water polo team and a sister who was a women's soccer student-athlete at Cal, redshirt junior utility Stephanie Schnugg comes from a family rich in Cal history. But this Schnugg has already set her own course. As a true freshman, she scored 10 goals and had 10 goals in her sophomore campaign, taking a year to redshirt in between. This season, she has already surpassed both of those totals with 19 goals thus far in 2009. CalBears.com took some time to find out more about growing up in the Schnugg family as well as her interest in art, which is her major.

CalBears.com: If you could snap your fingers and appear somewhere else, where would it be?
SS: Nepal, Spain or Peru.

CalBears.com: Your dad won a national title on the men's water polo team at Cal, your sister Julia played soccer here and your cousins Bryan Schnugg and Charlie Steffens are sophomores on the men's water polo team - did your family history with Cal influence your decision to come here?
SS: Surprisingly, no it didn't. When I first started looking at schools, Cal was at the bottom of my list. I wanted to go somewhere far from home (well, further from home than Berkeley) because I grew up in the East Bay and really wanted to experience someplace new. I also didn't want to come to Cal because I wanted to make a name for myself. However, after my recruiting trip, I absolutely knew that this is where I wanted to be for the next four (or five) years of my life. After being here for four years, I've realized that I love being close to home, my family, and am so proud to be at a university where so many of my relatives have gone and go!

CalBears.com: Since your dad played water polo, is that how you got started playing the sport? Did you play other sports growing up?
SS: Yes, my dad started me playing water polo when I was in eighth grade, but before then I didn't even really know what it was or that he was on the 1980 Olympic Team! Can you believe that?! I played soccer through high school, basketball and softball, tennis and danced.

CalBears.com: You're majoring in art, what's your favorite part about your major and how did you decide on it?
SS: My favorite part about being an art major is that is always challenging but in a way that is almost therapeutic. I love going up to Kroeber Hall and working in studio on a painting or a print and getting my mind off of everything. I learn something new every day and am surrounded by a very talented and creative group of students. I decided on majoring in art after I took a drawing class with one of my favorite professors at Cal, Leo Bersamina. He always took time to work with me, he inspired me to be better and also to be more outgoing with my art. Leo talked me into pursuing art as a major after our last critique my sophomore year.

CalBears.com: What are some hobbies you have outside of your sport?
SS: Painting, intaglio (a type of printmaking), cooking and sleeping.

CalBears.com: What has been your most memorable moment in athletics?
SS: My most memorable moment in athletics thus far was when we were playing Stanford my freshman year and I broke a girl's nose. It was completely unintentional and the worst feeling I've ever had during a game. Her face and my head collided and for the next 2-3 weeks after I had stomach aches and could still hear the sound of her nose breaking on my head. I felt so bad that I sent her emails to check on her throughout the rest of the season. Luckily, her and I eventually became teammates through the National Team so there aren't any hard feelings anymore.

CalBears.com: What is one goal you'd like to accomplish in your lifetime?
SS: Own an English bulldog named Benny.

CalBears.com: What's one modern convenience without which you could not live?
SS: As much as they make life easier, I could probably live without most of them. A lot of the modern technology alienates people from human interaction and I think that is something we could all use more of.

CalBears.com: In the last women's water polo Q&A, Julie Oreglia wanted the next student-athlete to answer: If your life were a movie, what genre would it be?
SS: I'm not sure what genre it would be, but I'm pretty positive they'd cast Sasha Fierce to play the part of myself.

CalBears.com: What question would you want the next women's water polo athlete to answer?
SS: If you could be one of your teammates for a day, who would it be and why?

For a complete listing of past Q&As with the California women's water polo team, click here or look on the sidebar on the main women's water polo page.