Fresno State Athletics
Photo by: Keith Kountz
In the pool with Emily Nicholson
2/5/2019 9:47:00 PM | Water Polo
FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State water polo team is preparing to host its 2019 home opener against Fresno Pacific on Friday, Feb. 8 at 5:30 p.m. PT at the Fresno State Aquatics Center. Before the Bulldogs take on the Sun Birds, GoBulldogs.com caught up with sophomore co-captain Emily Nicholson.
The Auckland, New Zealand native has netted 14 goals this season for the Bulldogs. Nicholson lead Fresno State to an 11-9 upset over No. 13 Indiana, scoring a career-high five goals. After being left out of the national rankings to start the season, the Bulldogs have pushed their way into the rankings as No. 14.
Nicholson was a key member of the Fresno State water polo team during its inaugural season. She competed in all 25 games during her first season, finished second on the team in scoring with 36 goals and points with 42. Nicholson owned the highest shooting percentage at 42 percent and team-high 39 exclusions. She was a strong piece of the Bulldogs' offense with 11 multi-goal games and four hat tricks. The center finished the season with one GCC Player of the Week accolade, GCC Co-Newcomer of the Year honors, garnered All-GCC Second Team and GCC All-Freshman Team honors.
We asked her a variety of questions from her inspiration to play water polo to the challenges of being a student-athlete.
Q: What was your water polo journey, and how did you end up at Fresno State?Â
Nicholson: "I started playing water polo when I was 11 years old and I fell in love with the sport. I played all during intermediate school and high school, as well as for a club team. I started representing New Zealand nationally at the youth and junior levels. Last year, I played on the New Zealand Senior National Team for the first time. Throughout High School I had hopes to come play water polo in America and further my career, and luckily I was given the opportunity. I was playing on the New Zealand Junior National Team at the World Championships in Greece, where Natalie was coaching the USA Team. That's where my journey at Fresno State began. I knew straight away that this was a coach I wanted to have and a program that I wanted to be a part of.
Q: What drew you in about starting a new program?Â
Nicholson: "To have the chance to start something from scratch was really exciting. To be a part of a team where we get to come up with our own values and set the expectations for years to come, was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. It was awesome to join a team where majority of the players are the same age as me. We were all starting from the beginning together and going through everything for the first time as a team."
Q: How does it feel to be a captain?Â
Nicholson: "It's an incredible feeling to know that my coaches and teammates trusted me to be in this leadership position. It comes with a lot of responsibility and there are a lot higher expectations compared to the previous times I've had the opportunity to captain a team, but it's been a great learning experience so far. Being able to represent Fresno State and a Division 1 program, alongside my trusty sidekick and co-captain Isabella Magno is awesome."
Q: Where do you draw your inspiration to play water polo from?Â
Nicholson: "A large part of my inspiration comes from wanting to be the best player that I can possibly be. This has always given me a lot of motivation. However, a lot of my inspiration now comes from not only wanting to become a better player to help my team here, but also so I can take my skills back home to help represent my country. To be able to play for New Zealand gives me a lot of inspiration. I want to be able to help my team place higher than we ever have before, and be competitive to fight for a place in the Olympics."
Q: Coach Benson puts a lot of emphasis on the program representing the Valley, what does that mean to the team as a whole?
Nicholson: "To have the opportunity to represent the Valley is one of our biggest and most important values to our team. Our team is made up of girls from all over, but the Valley is now our home. We will do anything we can to represent it to the best of our ability. We have seen how much the community cares and supports not only our program but all the athletes at Fresno State, so we just want to make everyone in the Valley proud."
Q: What do you want fans to know about this team?
Nicholson: "This is only the second year as a program and we are blown away by the support that our team has already received. We want our fans to know that we are so appreciative of the support from the community and we are so grateful to be representing the Valley. There is so much talent in the Valley, so we hope that we can inspire other young athletes to stay home in Fresno and to one day become a Bulldog. We hope our fans can continue to support us this season, because we have a lot more home games than last year. We are also hosting the Golden Coast Conference Championships, and we would love for the Red Wave to cheer us on through the tournament. We all hope that as our program grows throughout the years, the Red Wave continues to grow with us."
Q: What are the challenges of being a student-athlete?
Nicholson: "The hardest part about being a student-athlete is definitely trying to balance everything. We have to train, travel, go to class and study. To find time to accomplish everything, can be hard at times. However, we have so many amazing resources available to us here at Fresno State. It's also nice knowing that your teammates are in the exact same situation as you. We are able to support and lean on each other a lot."
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" - The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
The Auckland, New Zealand native has netted 14 goals this season for the Bulldogs. Nicholson lead Fresno State to an 11-9 upset over No. 13 Indiana, scoring a career-high five goals. After being left out of the national rankings to start the season, the Bulldogs have pushed their way into the rankings as No. 14.
Nicholson was a key member of the Fresno State water polo team during its inaugural season. She competed in all 25 games during her first season, finished second on the team in scoring with 36 goals and points with 42. Nicholson owned the highest shooting percentage at 42 percent and team-high 39 exclusions. She was a strong piece of the Bulldogs' offense with 11 multi-goal games and four hat tricks. The center finished the season with one GCC Player of the Week accolade, GCC Co-Newcomer of the Year honors, garnered All-GCC Second Team and GCC All-Freshman Team honors.
We asked her a variety of questions from her inspiration to play water polo to the challenges of being a student-athlete.
Q: What was your water polo journey, and how did you end up at Fresno State?Â
Nicholson: "I started playing water polo when I was 11 years old and I fell in love with the sport. I played all during intermediate school and high school, as well as for a club team. I started representing New Zealand nationally at the youth and junior levels. Last year, I played on the New Zealand Senior National Team for the first time. Throughout High School I had hopes to come play water polo in America and further my career, and luckily I was given the opportunity. I was playing on the New Zealand Junior National Team at the World Championships in Greece, where Natalie was coaching the USA Team. That's where my journey at Fresno State began. I knew straight away that this was a coach I wanted to have and a program that I wanted to be a part of.
Q: What drew you in about starting a new program?Â
Nicholson: "To have the chance to start something from scratch was really exciting. To be a part of a team where we get to come up with our own values and set the expectations for years to come, was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. It was awesome to join a team where majority of the players are the same age as me. We were all starting from the beginning together and going through everything for the first time as a team."
Q: How does it feel to be a captain?Â
Nicholson: "It's an incredible feeling to know that my coaches and teammates trusted me to be in this leadership position. It comes with a lot of responsibility and there are a lot higher expectations compared to the previous times I've had the opportunity to captain a team, but it's been a great learning experience so far. Being able to represent Fresno State and a Division 1 program, alongside my trusty sidekick and co-captain Isabella Magno is awesome."
Q: Where do you draw your inspiration to play water polo from?Â
Nicholson: "A large part of my inspiration comes from wanting to be the best player that I can possibly be. This has always given me a lot of motivation. However, a lot of my inspiration now comes from not only wanting to become a better player to help my team here, but also so I can take my skills back home to help represent my country. To be able to play for New Zealand gives me a lot of inspiration. I want to be able to help my team place higher than we ever have before, and be competitive to fight for a place in the Olympics."
Q: Coach Benson puts a lot of emphasis on the program representing the Valley, what does that mean to the team as a whole?
Nicholson: "To have the opportunity to represent the Valley is one of our biggest and most important values to our team. Our team is made up of girls from all over, but the Valley is now our home. We will do anything we can to represent it to the best of our ability. We have seen how much the community cares and supports not only our program but all the athletes at Fresno State, so we just want to make everyone in the Valley proud."
Q: What do you want fans to know about this team?
Nicholson: "This is only the second year as a program and we are blown away by the support that our team has already received. We want our fans to know that we are so appreciative of the support from the community and we are so grateful to be representing the Valley. There is so much talent in the Valley, so we hope that we can inspire other young athletes to stay home in Fresno and to one day become a Bulldog. We hope our fans can continue to support us this season, because we have a lot more home games than last year. We are also hosting the Golden Coast Conference Championships, and we would love for the Red Wave to cheer us on through the tournament. We all hope that as our program grows throughout the years, the Red Wave continues to grow with us."
Q: What are the challenges of being a student-athlete?
Nicholson: "The hardest part about being a student-athlete is definitely trying to balance everything. We have to train, travel, go to class and study. To find time to accomplish everything, can be hard at times. However, we have so many amazing resources available to us here at Fresno State. It's also nice knowing that your teammates are in the exact same situation as you. We are able to support and lean on each other a lot."
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" - The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
Players Mentioned
/ Water Polo
/ Water Polo
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