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closeBeyond the Athlete: Offensive spark plug keys attack
Senior Jag talks about life away from swimming pool
Shaun Scott
Senior Mandi Nyland is a threat to score every time she enters the pool for the Emerald Ridge Jaguars water polo team. She’s one of the most polished offensive players on the team, recording eight goals thus far in the 2008 season. Nyland hopes her team will improve on its current overall record of 2-4 in the second half of the season.
“Our goal is to go the state. I still think we’re state bound,” Nyland said. “We have to keep training hard and give it 100 percent in practice everyday. We can always learn each day. The more we keep learning, the better chance we have at succeeding.”
Recently, I had an opportunity to ask Mandi, a few questions about her life away from her favorite sport, water polo.
Shaun Scott: What is your favorite movie of all time?
Mandi Nyland: “Talladega Nights. Will Ferrell is the funniest person alive.”
SS: What is your favorite restaurant in Puyallup?
MN: “Mama Stortini’s. It’s great Italian food with a lot of carbohydrates in it which is good for a sport like water polo. I always go there for school dances and I also take my friends on my team there all the time.”
SS: Who was your idol growing up?
MN: “My mother. She’s definitely the strongest person I know.”
SS: What is your favorite hobby outside of water polo?
MN: “I love scrapbooking. I like to take pictures of all my friends and make cards and memory books out of them. It’s a lot of fun.”
SS: Where do you see yourself in five years?
MN: “I want to be in graduate school at the University of Washington. I want to be a pediatrician. I love children. Children are our future and I want to help take care of our future.”
SS: If you could pick one person to go to dinner with, who would it be?
MN: “Jon Heder. He was the actor that played Napoleon Dynamite. Next to Will Ferrell he’s one of the funniest actors in TV right now.”
SS: What is the last book you’ve read?
MN: “Heart of Darkness by author Joseph Conrad. It was for my AP literature course. It’s definitely a difficult read but it is a good book.”
SS: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
MN: “It was from my mom. She said, Always work your hardest and give 100 percent in anything you do.”