Sometimes a story has many shifting segments, parts that catch the eye and shimmer below the surfaces of other parts. It almost becomes difficult to start; stories where every thread is connected, but there are different beginnings for each piece, each person. Stories where every thread is its own distinct color, but lives in chromatic complement to every other thread. 

“We’re in Huntington Beach, right here in Orange County. It really is the water polo epicenter of the United States,” Steve Munatones, Sofia and Sydney’s father, begins the story here.

This is how I’m introduced to the family, the symbiotic wave of overlapping elements. From the start, water polo was there, right before them. 

“We’re an aquatic family," Skyler, the twins’ older brother and former captain of the UC San Diego men’s water polo team says. “Dad played water polo and swam. Both of his sisters played water polo and swam. They all played competitively, at the college level. My uncle as well. I guess it’s in our blood.” 

“We grew up going to my brother’s games. From when he was, what, fourteen, we started watching him play,” is where Sofia chooses to start.

“You used the word ‘ingrained,’ and I think that’s the perfect word for it. It wasn’t like we forced water polo onto them, it was something that they allowed themselves to become ingrained into. I think it was enjoyable for them,” Steve explains. 

He remembers the twins watching their brother’s games in their childhood.

“They would watch him, with all seriousness, and whether he did something good or did something bad, they would always comment things like ‘That was a good shot,’ or ‘He should’ve made that shot,’ ‘That was a good move.’ They were nine, ten, eleven, twelve years old. And they’re looking at these older boys play with a lot of seriousness. Typically, if you’re that age, it’s hard to look at any kind of sports with a critical eye. Like, with an understanding of what players should be doing, what they’re doing right and wrong. But from the age of nine and onwards, the twins were really locked into watching their older brother play.” 

At the same place, Huntington Beach, except this time their brother’s story had already begun, already interpolated water polo, and had drawn their attention even at a young age. 

“It was just some random summer, my mom signed us up for a water polo camp, and we fell in love with it. Guess it was just in our blood,” says Sofia.

Guess it’s in the blood, again, where everyone’s story starts. In the family, for whom water polo’s long-standing presence has generated a somewhat indelible gravitational force. But not a force so overbearing that it carried the Munatones kids into the sport’s orbit against their wills. It only asked for their awareness of its possibilities — the excitement and energy it could offer to their lives, the excitement and energy it had already brought to those around them.

“Actually, we didn’t really want to play at the start. During my brother’s games, sometimes they’d get into fights. It was like, bloody noses, so it was kind of scary at first,” Sydney admits. 

The flurry of sharp and sudden movements; they had to acclimate. One of the first anecdotes Steve brought to my attention was of the twins and their brother playing pretend water polo in the living room when they were all kids: 

“That was really one of the more impactful memories my wife and I had of them growing up. It was really something. Skyler would literally ask the girls to play goalie, and they would just sort of stand there; again, they’re five grades lower than him. So he’d be throwing the ball, and my wife and I were always a little scared that the twins were going to end up breaking something.” 

He gives the girls credit for taking it well. Sydney and Sofia both remember it too: “That. That was scary.” 

But past the initial fear and after delving into water polo’s depth — all the intricacies of its movement and physicality and sportsmanship — Sofia notes that “I think I got a lot of my playing style, my work ethic, from watching my brother. Watching my brother play, it definitely allowed me to think more, think harder, during my games. I think that when a lot of people look at sports, they think it’s just a lot of physical capability. In reality, a lot of it has to do with making smart decisions; in the heat of the moment, making sure you make the right pass, or you're in the right position, communicating at the right time with the right teammates, that takes a lot of mental strength.” 

For Sydney, a similar logic appears: “Just watching our brother play, for that long, I think that’s how I got so much of my game knowledge. Watching him play for years, I think, everything started to click for me. I started to see why players were making the decisions they made.”  

The girls’ high school coach, Dave Carlson of Los Alamitos High School, corroborates the twins’ learned game sense.

"Their knowledge of the game was impressive. That was the thing that caught my attention” — strong even before they entered college, during their high school years with a high-profile program. And tracing the years further back: “It was surprising to me how they would sit in the stands as these, you know, elementary school, junior high girls, and they’d laugh and play, but when their brother was playing, they’d be locked into the game. Almost trying to examine it like a very experienced coach.” 

Steve surmises that the twins had always watched the game with a “technical eye”— inevitable for those from an environment where water polo wasn't just an object of aesthetic observation, but understood as a work of moving parts, a process of active participation and conscious, split-second decisions. 

Throughout the Munatones’ daily rituals— dinner, driving to school, conversations about friends and the future— the sport’s residence is undeniable. 

“Conversations at the dinner table always revolve around athletics, and water polo,” Skyler opens this thread, which the twins continue with: “It’s in conversation, always. We’ll talk about people from other teams, how they’re doing now, how they’re playing in college. We text each other like: ‘Oh, I heard this girl just committed to this school, or that school.’ So, like, it’s something that we always talk about, all the time.” 

From their youth, Steve points out that the twins would discuss the sport “not only with me or Skyler, but with their grandparents, even. Their grandparents watched all the games, too. So the twins were talking about it with their brother, their parents, and their grandparents, about the game of water polo. Everyone.” 

So that explains the technical eye: developed not just in the pool, but outside it, through the small and endless interactions that comprise the stream of daily living. Steve continues, “It became so easy for the twins to catch these little things that add up over the years. We’d discussed almost all of them. But it wasn’t like, ‘Okay, let’s have an official talk about water polo,’ it was more like ‘Hey, could you pass the potatoes? By the way, that was a good shot you made,’ or ‘Hey, let’s get to school on time. Why’d you think you made that foul in that situation?'" 

Critical analysis mixed in with their everyday until it became the everyday, a kind of second nature that’s always switched on. Sydney agrees that discussing the game “is something that really makes us close. We have this hobby, this topic, that everyone likes to talk about. It’s actually funny”— She mentions their older sister never played— “She’s working in San Francisco right now, but recently she came back home, and she was like: ‘Gosh, all they talk about is water polo.’” 

Of course, there’s difficulty in being surrounded with a constant; not just of suffusion, but the latent possibility of drowning in it all. Especially entering into a school that’s already felt the light of their family’s water polo legacy.

"Sometimes, it gets a little much,” the twins admit. “There’s expectation. Because our family has played in the past, and that comes with a sort of responsibility that we have to produce.” 

Considering their brother’s previous leadership and success with the UC San Diego men’s water polo team, the worry isn’t unfounded. An All-American, Skyler was also the 2019 Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Division II Player of the Year and the 2016 Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Freshman of the Year. He was an All-WWPA selection every year of his career.

“When we got here, we were like: ‘Will I be able to be as successful as Skyler was? Will I be able to produce at that level? Will we be able to do what our family’s expecting?’ That was all pretty nerve-wracking.” Sofia adds: “But we know his impact, on the other side of it. That there’s a community he created here, that’s here for us. To lead us through, and help us. Just in the same way they helped him, and he helped them.” The twins have never mistaken this anxiety for ungratefulness, that much is clear.

The process of choosing UC San Diego seemed intuitive as well, as intuitive and free-flowing as the choice to play water polo they made in their youths. And like water polo, each Munatones has their own beginning: for Skyler, he’d always aimed to play water polo “at the highest level he could.” Consistently watching high-level water polo games when he was younger instilled in him the resolve to one day play an active role amidst that same kind of intense athletic environment. 

“The reason I chose UC San Diego specifically was because I always saw them cracking the Final Four, and wanting to play within an arm's reach of a national championship. I also had some family connection to my head coach, who’s now retired, named Denny Harper; he sought after me pretty hard.” 

And for him and UC San Diego, his dedication paid off.

“In 2018, we ended up going to the Final Four. That was definitely the highlight of my career; winning conference, beating our rivals. Playing at that level was probably my best memory.” 

For the twins, the beginning of their affinity towards UC San Diego was watching their brother play in college; the same high-energy crowds he saw they also saw, the same fervor for the game shared between players and fans. 

“I think, same with how we started playing water polo, our brother went to UC San Diego first,” Sofia acknowledges. “We went to, like, all his games. Every weekend, we’d drive down to San Diego and watch. It was just— the atmosphere around the pool was so infectious. We fell in love with it.” 

Sydney adds this: “The stands were always packed. That’s what we really noticed here: that people really enjoy water polo as a sport, which oftentimes, it doesn’t really get a lot of attention. There’s like an actual community, out here, in San Diego, that a lot of places don’t have.” 

To their younger selves, “that was the Superbowl, you know? That excitement that the UC San Diego teams generated. There were fans in the stands, there was a band playing. It was a great, wholesome experience they saw and felt growing up,” Steve says.

The twins reflect on the recruitment process, starting from their initial communications with the coaches: “Nicki (Davidson, associate head coach) and Brad (Kreutzkamp, head coach) were so welcoming and inviting, so that was really good to see. They said, ‘We’d love to have you guys on our team.' And on our official visit, the women on the team, they were the best.” A good amount of time is spent showering the water polo women with admiration. “Honestly? That was the reason we chose UC San Diego,” Sydney laughs. “The team was so awesome.” Even further, “coming in, Brad made it clear: ‘I know your brother played here, I know he’s been successful in this program, but don’t think that because he did that, you’re going to be handed that same title.’ And that made it really clear to myself and Sofia that we have to make our own”— Sydney pauses to find the word, and where she stops, Sofia supplements: “Path.” 

“Yeah, our own path. Our own path through here. We’re our own people. And we are separate people. I was glad that he said that. Because it also took pressure off of both of us, that we’re going into the women’s program, and that by itself is something totally different. We have different goals. We have different aspirations in life. So finding that through academics and through athletics, that was something I really appreciated.” Where there was initial concern about being dropped into the cold shade of Skyler’s shadow, "I think we’ve already separated ourselves from him.” 

And to the point of finding their own colors in the lattice-work of interconnected legacies that have passed through UC San Diego, Sofia says: “I feel like it’s kind of nice.” 

Beyond just defining themselves as individual people, defining themselves as players at the college level took a certain degree of adjustment. 

“We’re on the small side,” Sydney says. That, too, runs in the family. Steve explains: “All of my kids, including myself, we’re not very tall. It’s a lot of big people that play the sport. All of my kids, Sydney, Sofia, Skyler, they’ve guarded people literally a foot taller than them.” College took this height disparity and expanded it. “Basically all throughout our career we’ve kind of had to work. Work a lot for what we’ve earned— our playing time, how successful we were. In college, there was just this big jump. We were playing women that were a lot bigger than us, a lot stronger than us,” Sofia says, “It definitely took some adjustment.” 

“The things we focus on are the things you have control over. One of the things you don’t have control over is your size. The things the twins did have control over, as far as learning the sport, were working hard, anticipation, and having really good fundamentals,” Coach Carlson explains, with regard to which aspects of the game he emphasized while coaching the twins. 

“There’s something our high school coach always told us”— Sydney expands on this as well— “‘You are too small to be making these mistakes. You have to find other ways to compensate for your size.’ That was one of my concerns, to Brad, going into the season. I wasn’t sure how we were going to match up, playing against these twenty-one year old women who are like five-ten, five-eleven, way stronger than me, can lift way more. I remember telling Brad: ‘I don’t know how that’s going to work.’ And he just had faith. Just kept playing us, and we saw that there’s other ways.” Coach Carlson’s appreciation for UC San Diego’s water polo program comes from the school’s willingness to “recognize all three of the Munatones siblings” beyond just their height, “and really look at the value they could add to the program with the skill set they had. UC San Diego's a strong water polo program. They’re recognized as a strong water polo program, and they took these players that were smaller and allowed them to play successfully at that next level. To show they can contribute at their size. I really respect UC San Diego for that.” 

“When you’re undersized, you have to work hard in water polo”— Steve has always emphasized this, and that much is true. Sydney says: “My dad always told us: ‘In the water, they can only see your head. So everyone’s at chin level anyways. Everyone’s the same height in the water.'"

One analogy Steve proposes that they internalize as an undersized family “is that water polo is like the opposite of an iceberg. As we all know, an iceberg is much smaller above the surface of the water than below, right. In the game of water polo, if you’re undersized, you have to think the opposite. How tall, how big can you be above the surface of the water? When we’re discussing, there’s always a focus there. They’re always working on their eggbeater— their treading water— so even if they’re a foot smaller than the opponent, if they can tread water very well, their body can get out of the water higher. And, of course, the taller you can make the part of your body outside of the water, the greater the likelihood you’ll do well.” He regards treading water as an invaluable fundamental.

“What impresses me most about the twins is not their inherent knowledge of the game, which is incredibly high,” said Kreutzkamp. “What really impresses me is how they communicate with their teammates, with each other, and with me. I can literally just shout out one of their names during a game and they know exactly what I'm talking about and make the necessary adjustments. Along with their work ethic at every practice and their attitudes, I don't know if I've coached two more incredibly balanced and enjoyable athletes. We are truly lucky to have them.”

One of the natural inclinations that can be cultivated while undersized, though, is speed. 

“We’re in the umbrella of attackers, like driving, outside shooters, I guess, says Sofia. Certain positions need to be strong, muscle through stuff, and we stay away from those. We have girls on the team who are perfect for that. We’ll be towards the outside. Our speed can kill, and we’ll be able to make those passes.” 

Steve speaks to the same physical advantage that Sofia does: “The advantage the twins have physically— the only advantage— is to be quick. And so, when the twins were really small, we were always taking them to their older brother’s games. And because he was often the smallest player in the pool, he had to move quickly.” 

Their father has always asked them: “If you have speed, what can you do with that in the game? If you’re small, how can you emphasize the limited height that you have? In the game of water polo, tread water higher than your opponents. That’s what we’ve taught all three of them, Skyler and the twins, and what all three do quite well. If you’re not tough, not fast, can’t tread water high, you’re going to play fewer minutes, more often than not. And that’s fine, but if you’re going to commit to playing, most athletes would prefer to play more often than less often.” 

There’s a repeated emphasis on playing through what others deem as physical barriers, honing their physical advantages through maximizing speed and endurance. An emphasis placed on controlling what can be controlled, as Coach Carlson put it— the fundamentals. Fundamentals, which are inescapably honed through tenacity and work ethic. And unlike height, a feature of sheer inheritance, a good work ethic is always earned, always a conscious choice an athlete has to make, and that the twins have made over and over again. Carlson attests to this: “Having really good fundamentals— the ability to anticipate what’s going to happen— that’s what they have control over. And respecting their teammates, their team. Everything the twins had control over, they mastered. That’s basically our mantra: Focus on what you can control. The twins were small, but they made up for it by maximizing their fundamentals and anticipation. Both of the them have very good fundamentals in passing, shooting, balance, posting up, perimeter defense, and two-meter defense. Both Sydney and Sofia, they’re very industrious. They don’t shy away from things. They work hard. One of the first things I saw was that they worked extremely hard.”

At the college level, “I’d say the speed of the game, and the physicality of the game are the two things that come to mind” as the biggest learning curves. “The speed of the game at the college level is faster, and girls are simply bigger and stronger, so the physicality of the game at that college level is heightened,” Carlson explains. “But what happens in sports sometimes, when you’re big and strong, is that you’re able to be successful because you’re bigger and stronger than everyone. Once you get to UC San Diego, everyone there is athletic. And everyone you play against is athletic. If you’re just counting on your athleticism, you’re not going to fare very well.” 

He highlights various workouts, drills, and scrimmages the girls participated in in high school, in order to help them prepare for the college level: running drills at “game speed, game effort,” and playing against grown women. “When the twins got to UC San Diego, one of the things they told me was that it really helped them, drilling at one-hundred percent. Every time their coach drilled, it impressed him that they were able to drill at such a high level.” The twins’ continued efforts, combined with their high school’s rigorous training, is to thank for that. 

Even with all the ways they came into college prepared, there was still the process of acclimation. “The team was so patient with us, and they were so accommodating to us, that I feel like we got the hang of it pretty quick. And, always, when you’re joining a new team, the chemistry aspect is one of the hardest parts, but I feel like we got it pretty quickly here. The team is, I don’t even know how to describe it, joining this team was such an easy transition for us. We have a young team, so it took time over the season to really get things a lot smoother. Things definitely started clicking towards the end,” Sydney points out. 

The duo made an immediate impact after arriving at UC San Diego as freshmen. Sofia ended her 2023 rookie season with 33 steals, second-most on the team. She also dished out 20 assists, the third-most on the team, and scored 14 goals. Sydney finished with 12 goals, 11 assists, and 21 steals. Both were named to the All-Big West Freshman Team.

When I asked about them garnering that recognition, Steve let his contentment be known: “To be honest, in the case of both the twins and their brother, we initially didn’t expect them to play or make the traveling team or anything like that. We had hoped that they would, and so it was always very satisfying to see them making the most out of their playing time. Whenever they played well, represented the first team well, that was very satisfying from a parental point of view.” 

The twins are also unwavering in this regard. “On all the teams I’ve been on, I’ve never been the top scorer. I’ve always thought of myself as more of a role player, and that’s fine— I can make those passes. I won’t make silly mistakes. I’m pretty consistent in all my games, and so I think my teammates and Brad know they can count on me, count on us, to be consistent in every game, every play,” Sofia maintains. “I think, throughout the course of the season, we showed our team we’re willing to fight for a spot. I think that kind of work ethic, plus having a good attitude about everything, really made an impression on Brad and the coaching staff, and especially our team. And, in the long run, that stuff translates into the game. They recognized our work ethic. And they rewarded us." 

The praise for the team continues, beyond even just an athletic standpoint. Sydney goes into her initial shock: “I think I was at first like: ‘They want to hang out with me? Are you sure this isn’t some kind of mistake?’ At first I thought they were just being nice, but they just genuinely are such good people. And I have such genuine friendships here. I couldn’t say more good things about them.” 

These are the same women who’ve always reached out, always offered to help them take on the multiple levels of transition between high school and college. 

“Scheduling classes around practice times, and having to miss classes, possibly even midterms, because of travel, were all things we had to adjust to. But a lot of our teammates offered to help us, like if we had any questions, they were really accommodating,” Sofia says. “I guess the nice thing is that we’re not too far from Huntington Beach, from where we grew up. And it’s kinda funny: our parents are always down here. So, I think they found the transition harder than we did”— both laugh— “they were always like ‘Oh, is there a time you can come back for the weekend?’ So I think it was actually easier for us to be away from home than it was for them. I think I realized we needed that space— to find our own people and grow on our own.” 

On who they’d like to shout out from the team, they play no favorites: “I think literally our entire team. They are solely the reason why I’ve never been happier my entire life. They’re my best friends. From the freshmen to the seniors and upperclassmen, it’s not divided. It’s very coherent. We’re all very close.” 

On them doing a great job of shouting out the entire team throughout the rest of the interview, Sydney and Sofia can safely say: “Well, they’ve done a good job of getting us to the point where we can do that. We can brag about our team for hours.” 

Besides just water polo, as interwoven into their lives as the sport is, the Munatones family appreciates UC San Diego for its other features and facilities as well. “Definitely a combination of athletics and academics”— and then Steve jokes—“We live in Orange County. So that’s far enough that the kids are away from home, but close enough where if they have to they can come home at any time.” 

Skyler adds that they “are all striving to be not only good at athletics, but also to go to a good academic school, like UC San Diego.” 

Sofia is a Cognitive Science major while Sydney is majoring in Human Biology. As freshmen in 2023, both were ACWPC All-Academic and Big West Commissioner's Honor Roll selections.

Steve takes the time to highlight the character of the players on the women’s water polo team as well: “Their teammates are great. And we all know, as parents, that if your kids are surrounded by other good students and good athletes— positive influences— that is a greater inspiration for them than anything we can do. If their teammates are studying, are diligently practicing their sport, that makes it very easy for them to do the same thing.” 

In this sense, the college satisfies every parent’s longing for their children to surround themselves with well-rounded peers. 

Everyone has no doubt the twins will continue gathering meaningful college memories, while carrying the mentality of toughness that’s been ingrained in them through the efforts of their family, their team, and themselves. 

Steve’s always thought that “The little things in our lives present life lessons. If you’re going to show up every day to practice, to your classes, you’re probably going to show up every day at work, and every day to help your future friends, and so the life lesson we really emphasize as a family is we didn’t want the kids to miss a practice, or even if they didn’t play a lot in a particular game, that’s okay. Always show up, cheer for your teammates, always be respectful to your coaches, always be grateful to the people who organize the sport.” 

Sofia and Sydney have been carrying these lessons well already, but he knows they will press forward, through college and into the future, with the words in mind. “UC San Diego’s a great place. A really, really great place. You know, I walk on campus whenever I watch their games, and it’s just great. You go on campus, and you see athletes and non-athletes alike walking around with— and I described this to my wife the other day— an ‘enjoyable sense of seriousness.’ They want to do well, and to do things well with as much enjoyment as possible. I think it’s the breadth of the university, academically and otherwise. It means that you can find something that you really enjoy doing. And I can really see that around campus: no one has a frown on their face. Everyone walks around with a sense of purpose. A sense of ambition. A sense of ‘I’m striving to do my best in the field I’ve chosen.’ "

“The twins have great intuition and will rely on each other to excel through school and athletics like they've always have”— says Skyler, confident in their diligence as well. But it makes sense that he would; he knows firsthand. 

When I bring up the living room anecdote to Steve again, from back when Skyler, Sofia, and Sydney were all children, he elucidates on the details he remembers: “Skyler would ask the twins to play goalie, and they would. And sometimes, he'd throw the ball and they’d get hit in the arm or the leg, or something, and it was very interesting— they never cried. They’d always just throw the ball back at him, as hard as they could. To me, that showed tenacity. They never gave up.” 

And in the sea of connected threads, this memory keeps emitting light.