By Sara Vierra '15

Matt Kochalko is a sophomore mechanical engineer major at Santa Clara University (SCU) and he had an outstanding 2011-12 season as a redshirt-freshman on the men's water polo team. Kochalko (MK) sat down with SantaClaraBroncos.com to tell us more about his team, his sport, his major and academic interests. During the interview, Kochalko admitted that SCU truly is "the perfect fit for him."

SCU: How did you pick your major?

MK: I decided on mechanical engineering because I am good at math and science and it is stuff that interests me. My older sister was an electrical engineer, and hearing some of the things that she was doing made me more interested in engineering.

SCU: At what point in your water polo career did you know that you wanted to play at the collegiate level?

MK: I'm not really sure when I knew exactly that I wanted to play in college. I just loved the game so much I knew I didn't want to give it up and I was fortunate enough to be able to play at the collegiate level.

SCU: What is your favorite thing about water polo?

MK: My favorite thing about water polo is probably passing and shooting. I could get in the pool and shoot the ball for hours if I had the time. I love finding new ways to pass and shoot the ball that are tricky and will catch the other team off guard.

SCU: What is your favorite thing about Santa Clara University?

MK: My favorite thing about Santa Clara University is the people. There are a lot of nice, genuine, fun and good people. Everyone here is very sincere and always trying to help in some way.

SCU: What has been your favorite class that you have taken at SCU?

MK: My favorite class at Santa Clara was my Cultures and Ideas class, Music in Cultures. It was a very interesting class to me because I am interested in music. Learning about the different cultures and how different their music is from ours was very intriguing. It was also a nice break from all of my engineering classes.

SCU: Do you have a pre-game meal that you like to eat routinely?

MK: I do not really have a pre-game meal before every game but I prefer to eat a couple hours before the game so I'm not full during the game. 

Go Broncos!