Maggie Steffens

Maggie Steffens
Personal information
Full name Margaret Ann Steffens
Nationality American
Born (1993-06-04) June 4, 1993
San Ramon, California
Residence Danville, California
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg)
Sport
Country  United States
Sport Water polo
College team Stanford University

Margaret Ann Steffens (born June 4, 1993) is an American water polo player. She won the gold medal with the United States in the 2012 Summer Olympics,[1] and in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Early career

Steffens played water polo at Monte Vista High School and helped the team win their league championship in 2007, 2008, and 2009.[2][3] She also played for Diablo Water Polo in Alamo, California.[4]

College career

Steffens attended Stanford University, playing on the women's water polo team from 2013 to 2017. Steffens lead the team to NCAA championships in 2014, 2015, and 2017, and to second-place finishes in 2013 and 2016.

In 2015, Steffens scored four goals in the semifinal game against USC, which Stanford won, 9-8. In 2017, she scored three goals in Stanford's 8-7 championship victory against UCLA, including the winning goal with 9 seconds left. In 2015 and again in 2017 she was named the MVP of the NCAA tournament.[5][6][7][8]

Steffens graduated from Stanford in June, 2017 with a B.S. degree in Science, Technology, and Society. [9]

International career

Steffens played on the United States national water polo team which won the 2010 FINA World League Super Final and the 2010 FINA World Cup. She scored the winning goal against Australia in the final match of the FINA World League Super Final.[2]

In 2011, Steffens helped the U.S. win the 2011 FINA World League Super Final again. In the Pan American Games, she scored the winning goal in the shootout of the final match, as the U.S. defeated Canada.[2]

The U.S. won the FINA World League Super Final for the third straight year in 2012, and Steffens led the team with 11 goals.[2] In the first match of the Summer Olympics, Steffens scored seven goals to tie the Olympic single-game record.[10] She scored 21 total goals in the Olympics, which set a new Olympic record for most goals scored in women's water polo, as the U.S. won the gold medal.[1] She was named the Best Female Water Polo Player of 2012 by FINA and the 2012 female Water Polo Player of the Year by Swimming World Magazine.[11][12]

In the 2016 Summer Olympics, Steffens led the team in scoring with 17 goals, as the U.S. again won the gold medal.

Personal life

Steffens was born in San Ramon, California to Peggy Schnugg and Carlos Steffens. Her father, a native of Puerto Rico, became interested in the sport of water polo after witnessing a match as a child in Puerto Rico. He played for Puerto Rico in three Pan American Games. Her father left the island and joined the water polo team of Berkeley, University of California where he became a three-time All-American, leading the California Golden Bears to the 1977 NCAA championship.[13][14][15] In 1979, he was the PAC-10 player of the year in water polo.[16]

Maggie Steffens lives in Danville, California. She became interested and was influenced in the sport of water polo mainly by her father and sister, Jessica Steffens, who is also on the United States national team.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 "Olympics: Danville's Maggie Steffens scores five goals as U.S. water polo team captures first-ever gold medal". mercurynews.com. August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Maggie Steffens". usawaterpolo.org. Retrieved August 9, 2012. Archived August 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. "Maggie Steffens". teamusa.org. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  4. "Maggie Steffens". london2012.com. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  5. "Maggie Steffens". Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  6. "Women's Water Polo History". Retrieved May 20, 2017
  7. "2015 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship". Retrieved May 20, 2017
  8. "Stanford Wins its Sixth". Retrieved May 20, 2017
  9. "Steffens ties Olympic water polo scoring record". paloaltoonline.com. July 30, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  10. "FINA Names Maggie Steffens Best Female Water Polo Player Of 2012" Archived 2013-01-20 at the Wayback Machine.. usawaterpolo.org. January 4, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  11. "Now Available December Swimming World Magazine Names Water Polo Players of the Year". swimmingworldmagazine.com. December 8, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  12. San Jose Mercury News
  13. FOR THE STEFFENS, WATER POLO IS A FAMILY AFFAIR, ESPN
  14. Steffens Family Legacy
  15. Seven Bay Area players selected to U.S. women's Olympic water polo team
Awards
Preceded by
Greece Alexandra Asimaki
Spain Jennifer Pareja
FINA Water Polo Player of the Year
2012
2014
Succeeded by
Spain Jennifer Pareja
Incumbent
Preceded by
Canada Krystina Alogbo
World Water Polo Player of the Year
2012
Succeeded by
Incumbent
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