Fab Five: Natalie Widmer

Photographs have the ability to capture important pieces of our past and help us recall people, places, feelings and memories that made an impact on our lives. For many scholar-athletes, pictures secure those special moments and assist in making their collegiate careers last forever.

In a feature called “Fab Five”, Triton scholar-athletes are tasked to pick five of their favorite photos throughout their career to be highlighted on UCSDtritons.com.

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Today, UC San Diego women’s soccer scholar-athlete Natalie Widmer shares her collection. 

A native of Santa Barbara, Widmer will enter her senior year this fall. During her Triton career, she has helped her team to three California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament titles and a pair of NCAA West Region crowns.

1. Family and Fans

This photo was from my freshman year against San Francisco State. I love this picture because that is my niece's head in the bottom corner and this was the first time my older sister and my nieces and nephew were able to watch me play at UC San Diego!

2. Championship Celebration

This image is from the 2019 CCAA Championship against Sonoma State. Earlier that season we experienced a tough loss against them which made this win feel that much sweeter. I love looking back at this picture because it reminds me how great celebrating with my team feels. 

3. Shutout = Success

This will forever be one of my favorite photos. This was the 2018 West Region Championship against Western Washington and winning this game meant a ticket to the Final Four. During this game, we defended for a full 110 minutes. It was a total team effort, but I was so proud of our backline for leading us to the shutout!

4. Energy and Excitement

This photo is from my freshman season when we beat Western Washington in the West Regional Championship. While this game was important for obvious reasons, our team had always talked about playing Western Washington and how intense it always is. Everyone was so excited to play and left everything out on the field.  I remember we had a huge crowd for this game and feeling the support from everyone was amazing and brought us so much energy. 

5. Playing Our Hearts Out

This image is from when we played West Texas A&M in Amarillo, Texas in 2018. I loved this game because it seemed like everyone had a chance at goal at least once during the game. Everyone played their heart out which is probably why the West Texas head coach said, “That’s the best damn soccer team I’ve ever seen.”

Stay tuned for future editions of “Fab Five” from other UC San Diego scholar-athletes. Below are previous “Fab Five” collections: 

• Zeinab Torabi (women's track and field)
• Isabel Lavrov (softball)
• Cameron Leonard (baseball)
• Neil Tengbumroong (tennis)
• Konami Masui (fencing)
   

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program begins a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I.  The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in DivisionsIII and II and helped guide more than 1,300 scholar-athletes to All-America honors.  A total of 82 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships.  UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.