Out of the Water with Alison Mantel
1/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Sophomore Alison Mantel is quickly scribing her name all over the Michigan water polo record book. This season she became the third-fastest Wolverine to reach the 50-goal milestone, needing only 46 career games. A CWPA All-Western Division second team selection as a freshman, Mantel set the program record for points by a rookie with 89, proving her ability to not only score but also to dish it out.
As she prepared for the Maize and Blue's first road tournament of the season, Alison sat down with us to discuss class in the Arb, what is so special about Florida, and French desserts.
On why she chose Michigan
I wanted something different than Florida, where I grew up. I also wanted a school that was good in academics and also where I could go play water polo and be an impact on the team and help out with the team. Michigan provided all of that and above -- the help that it gives its athletes and the great academic and athletic standards that you have to have to come here.
On her favorite place to hang out on campus
I love the law quad in the fall when the leaves are all red. It is just gorgeous. I also like the Arb because you can go up there and have a picnic. I had a class that would go up there almost every week last year and that was really cool.
On what Florida water polo brings to the table
Florida water polo is up-and-coming. The team that Cara (Reitz) and I played on was always a good team. We gave some California teams a run for their money. It used to be great; I have heard that back in the '70s that Florida was the place to be for water polo. It is growing again. There are a lot of talented water polo players in Florida that are looked over, but they are there, you can find them.
On what she would do if she were not a student-athlete
I would want to go study abroad. I would love to be able to go and have that opportunity. There are so many places I would want to go. I like Australia and Italy -- I have been there, but I want to go back because it was so cool and there was so much I missed out on. I hear about all of these awesome study abroad opportunities they have like PITE (Program in the Environment) where you can go to different places and take environment classes. It sounds so cool.
On which teammate is the best cook
We all have our talents in cooking, but I am really not sure. Leah (Robertson), for my birthday last year, made this really good graham cracker, brown sugar, nuts and chocolate thing that was really delicious. I have heard that (Carrie) Stover and Julie (Hyrne) are really good at making cakes and stuff. I know Julie likes to cook; she is always inviting me over to make Rice Krispies.
On what her cooking talent is
Crepes and crme brulee. I like interesting stuff. At the beginning of the year, the sophomores all got together for a little brunch and we had crepes with all these delicious toppings.
On who is the hardest teammate to practice against
I would say either Sharayah (Hernandez) or Mary (Chatigny) because they always work hard. They are both really aggressive in their own ways. They want everyone to get better, so they will play hard against you to make you better and themselves better.
Contact: Ryan Sosin (734) 763-4423
