UC San Diego women’s water polo team saw their season come to an end on Friday, with a quarterfinal loss to UC Irvine in the Big West Conference. That moment also signaled the end of the collegiate athletic career for two players who had grown up playing together through youth leagues and at Los Alamitos High.
Twin sisters Sydney and Sophia Munatones wrapped up the athletic portion of their student-athlete lives with friends and family in attendance at the Big West tournament at Long Beach State’s Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.
While the elimination from the tournament was a disappointment, the sisters were buoyed by their excitement to complete their academic pursuit, and their plans for lives after college. Sydney said she was grateful for the experience of playing college water polo and for the legacy she sees in the wake of their departure.
“It’s definitely bittersweet, but honestly, I can only think of the most fondest memories of my time here at UCSD, I wouldn’t take it back for the world,” Sydney said.
Sydney led UC San Diego in assists this year.
The sisters were half of the senior class on the team, under first year head coach, and former UCSD player Sarah Lizotte. Sophia added that the young players showed a lot of potential and that being a part of the team leadership made the season extra special.
“I feel so lucky to have been a senior for this incoming class, this young team, they’re gonna be really great in the years coming up,” Sophia said.
Sophia and Sydney were fourth and fifth on the team in offensive points. Sophia compiled 46 points after scoring 28 goals and getting 18 assists. Meanwhile Sydney scored 13 goals and had a team-high 32 assists this season.
The sisters have been standouts since they took up water polo as children. They come from a family of aquatic competitors, and they followed their older brother to UC San Diego, after his standout career as a Triton.
In their freshman year, they were already achieving both in the water and classroom. Sydney had 12 goals and 11 assists her freshman year and had the fourth most steals with 21. As a sophomore she was second on the team in assists, with 32. Sophia had the second-most steals on the team with 33. As a sophomore, she scored 24 goals and added 14 assists.
They sisters were both named to the Freshman All-Conference team their first year. Both of them have been three-time ACWPC All-Academic honorees and two time Big West Spring Academic All-Conference honorees. Both were also named to the Big West Commissioners Honor Roll in 2023.
Their first three years at UCSD were under the leadership of Head Coach Brad Kreutzkamp. His influence and belief in them was a big part of their development as college players, they said.
“I think looking at us, we’re what 5-1, maybe, on the smaller end of water polo players, but that never, you know, that never crossed his mind, he was always putting us in the water, so, you know, I can’t say enough good things about him,” Sophia said.
The sisters will graduate in June, Sydney with a degree in Public Health and Sophia with a degree in Cognitive Science. However, jumping into a career in either is not the immediate plan. Sydney plans to get a job in the San Diego area and enjoy the city she has come to love.
Sophia is going to take a job teaching English in Japan, for a year. It’s an adventure she has wanted to pursue for some time now. It will mark the first time she has been that far from family, including her sister, but she is looking forward to the next adventure.
“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, so, I’m more excited than nervous,” Sophia said.