Student Athlete of the Week – Nadia Frutkin

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – Palm Desert's girls water polo star Nadia Frutkin is this week's student-athlete of the week.

“Nadia has been just a really key component for our team this year," Elise Stein, the Aztec's assistant coach said. "She's one of our captains. She is a very selfless player.” 

Frutkin has played water polo since her freshman year, after a couple of her friends encouraged her to join the team. After her first practice, she said she fell in love with it.

“I think this team goes beyond just being like a sports team," Frutkin said. "I think I've really found some of my best friends within all of them.”

While playing water polo, Frutkin has spent the last four years on the varsity swim team. It's a skill thats translated effortlessly to water polo and her strength in the pool has helped propel her team to a Desert Empire League Championship win this year.

“She is one of our athletes that we want out on the field talking to her teammates, helping them with plays or where to go, what to do," Stein said. "And she's just very smart and communicates very well.”

Frutkin's intelligence is evident in the pool, but it also extends into the classroom.

“My GPA is a 4.85 weighted," Frutkin said. "Outside of the pool, I'm involved in academic clubs at our school, so I'm president of the ecology club and the biology club.” 

“She's just a great student athlete, a scholar athlete, and it represents our program really well," Stein said. "Water polo is a tough sport, and I think it takes a lot to be able to, you know, play sports in general.”

Frutkin said she has applied to 25 universities so far, and is waiting to hear back on if she's been accepted to any of them. Even though she's not sure where she's headed, she has big plans for her future with an emphasis on helping others.

“I'm going to attend a four year university next year, and I hope to apply to med school after that," Frutkin said. "I really want to become, a physician in the future and also do biomedical research. I've always been interested in my biology courses at school...I also do an internship at a neuroscience clinic in Palm Springs. So, all of those factors have really influenced my desire to help people in the future.”

The student-athlete of the week segment airs every Tuesday on KESQ News Channel 3.

If you know a senior who is a strong student, standout athlete and an exceptional person, submit a nomination to share@kesq.com.