April 13, 2015
SAN DIEGO - Starting with the first week of classes back in late August, we began to look at every varsity women's water polo team in school history, which spans 20 seasons. This week we look at the 2010 team. The Aztecs finished with a 21-15 record and finished the year ranked tied for ninth nationally, their fifth straight top-10 effort.
Where are they now?
Melissa de Jonckheere played at SDSU from 2009-10, earning two varsity letters and helping the Aztecs to a pair of top-9 national finishes and an overall record of 44-26. The transfer from Riverside CC posted 58 goals, 73 assists and 80 steals in her career, which spanned 70 games. In her final season, de Jonckheere enjoyed a breakout 2010 campaign that saw her rank fourth on the team in scoring (37), third in assists (46) and fifth in steals (48).
Questions for Melissa:
1. What exciting things have you been up to since graduating from SDSU?
"I have been up to a few very exciting things! Since graduating from SDSU, I have obtained my (since childhood) dream job as a dolphin trainer at SeaWorld San Diego! I work at Dolphin Point where we do daily educational presentations and interaction programs. It is an extremely rewarding job building relationships with these amazing animals, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to share them with everyone. Seeing that smile on a child's face because they just learned dolphins have ears and they actually got to see that ear up close makes my day! Before I landed my dream job, I did two internships with the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program working with their bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions, worked at the San Diego Humane Society caring for its cats and dogs, and spent a summer as a seasonal trainer at Shamu Stadium working with killer whales. The path to get there was very competitive and challenging, and I attribute many of the skills I learned from being part of a sports team to my success. This is a field where teamwork, communication, perseverance, and dedication are all very important components to being successful.
"I am also currently planning a wedding! I just recently got engaged on September 7, 2014 to the love of my life, Nik Kafkas. Nik and I met at SeaWorld (he is now a dolphin trainer for the Navy), and our wedding date is set for April 24, 2016!"
2. Who is your favorite SDSU athlete?
"My favorite SDSU athlete would have to be Tony Gwynn! Aside from his athletic greatness and phenomenal coaching abilities, he was such a kind guy. I have memories of chatting with him in the elevator at the Athletic Center and he was such a genuine person. He was very funny and always interested in how all of SDSU's athletes were doing."
3. What was your most memorable game/travel trip while playing water polo at SDSU? Why?
"This is a tough one to answer because I have SO many great memories, but the one I'm going to have to go with was scoring the game-winning goal against UCLA my senior year. It was the first time SDSU had beat UCLA since 1995! I was not having the best game and I was definitely struggling with my confidence at the time. Working through my issues and taking that opportunity to shoot the ball helped me realize what I am capable of."
4. Can you tell us about your favorite non water polo memory of being a student athlete at SDSU?
"Basketball games! Our men's basketball team had always been pretty good, but they started to garner national attention my senior year and the energy our school generated in support of them was pretty surreal to be a part of. Tickets became hard to get, and if you did get them, you needed to get to the arena two hours before the game to get as close to the court as possible. I once camped out for five days outside of Viejas Arena to get tickets for the game against our biggest rival, BYU. I would also like to mention the crazy rainstorm we had the last night of camping, which we started referring to as the "Monsoon on the Mesa." Water was literally everywhere and we didn't sleep at all. It was a fun and unique experience that I will never forget!"
5. Can you tell us one thing you learned from Coach Carin Crawford?
"I learned a lot of things from Carin and grew so much as a collegiate athlete during my time at SDSU. I think that my favorite thing I learned from her was how to set myself up for a good shot with my body language, pump-faking, or catching and shooting. I was always a counter-attack player and that's where I scored most of my goals from before I attended SDSU. All of the different shooting drills in practice really allowed me to become a bigger shooting threat from more areas of the pool."
Stay Connected with SDSU Water Polo
Make sure to stay updated with Aztec water polo by liking them on Facebook, and following them on Twitter and Instagram.
Former Aztecs can also stay connected with other former student-athletes through the Aztec Varsity Club. For more information on the newly formed athletics group, visit goaztecs.com/avc or contact Johanna Pfeiffer at (619) 594-6444 or aztecvarsityclub@mail.sdsu.edu.
A Look Back at 20 Years of SDSU Water Polo: 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009