The two-time Olympic medalist froze when she heard the words escape her 3-year-old daughter.
"No missy, not today," replied Lynn Gautschi. "You're not ready yet."
Even in her infancy, Ronni Gautschi knew better than to contradict her mother. Lynn Gautschi, one of the most heralded and hard-headed swimmers in the nation's history, centered her career around tenacity - a trait she carried over when she started coaching at Live Oak High School in 1977. She swam as an Olympian when Olympic officials got better treatment than Olympians. She set a world record in the 200-meter individual medley at age 14, won silver and bronze medals before age 21, and carried the Olympic torch several times later.
Ronni Gautschi, 20, had no room to question her mother on anything that had to do with swimming, let alone deciding when one's old enough to get serious with the sport. Then again, she is a Gautschi.
"She wouldn't let it go," Lynn recalled. "Everywhere she went, she'd tell people, 'I'm ready to swim, I'm going to swim for mommy.'
"Finally after a couple instructions, I took her to the pool and said, 'Ronni, go swim a few laps. Let's see what you can do.' She swam the most beautiful freestyle stroke, just beautiful. She jumped out and said, 'now can I swim for you?'"
Gazing at the backyard of her Morgan Hill home Saturday, Lynn Gautschi, 55, told the story like she was watching it unfold again. Hours earlier, she watched her daughter play water polo in the collegiate world's biggest tournament, showing the determination and grit that accent the family name.
There was little Ronni, the stocky 5-foot-9 business major, powering through defenders, blasting shots, taking punishment in the process, and leading her No. 4-seeded San Diego State Aztecs to an 11-4 victory over No. 8 Pomona Pitzer in the consolation round of the NCAA Water Polo Championships at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. Gautschi saw limited time but scored once and tallied two of her team's 17 shots on goal. With defenders climbing her back, she carved space in front of the net as whole set - likened to a center in basketball - and helped create second-half scoring opportunities for teammates Erin Lester and Anna Gonzales, who completed a hat trick in the fourth quarter.
Gautschi's second shot of the afternoon found the net with 2:51 remaining. She pulled the trigger from 10 meters out after ample time passed to find an open teammate. A day later, she helped the Aztecs (31-7) clinch fifth place at the tournament with an appeasing 12-9 win over No. 6 Michigan - San Diego State's third victory over the Wolverines this season.
Gautschi and her teammates were hoping for more, but a tournament-opening loss to UC Davis hand-cuffed their national title hopes.
"Obviously, it's great ending the year with a win," said the four-time Tri County League MVP at Live Oak. "But coming back to the NCAAs, we expected to do better, especially me. It felt like I was playing at home. I wanted to do better than take fifth place."
And just like that, Gautschi's sophomore year is in the books. The finale isn't something to write home about, but her progression certainly is. Last season, she totaled 14 goals as a true freshman and helped the Aztecs to a fourth-place finish at the NCAAs. She more than doubled her output in 2008, scoring 29 goals (fifth best on the team). She netted four of those during a crucial win over California in the fifth-place game of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, securing an at-large berth in the NCAAs.
"That was a break-out game for her," said San Diego State coach Carin Crawford. "We're starting to see what Ronni can do. There are few people in Division I water polo that can shoot as hard as her. She's got an amazingly hard shot. ... She's really just coming into her own as far as being confident in her ability and learning the full extent of her potential."
Gautschi's confidence level is keeping pace. She lacks the haughtiness of a typical go-to goal-scorer but isn't necessarily modest.
"I'm actually terrified to shoot outside," she said. "Inside, I know I can score goals. That's where I'm in my comfort zone - right in front of the net. I have a lot of confidence shooting inside. I just need to work on the rest!"
Gautschi made a big step against Cal - and at a time the Aztecs needed it most.
"It was, by far, the biggest game of the season," Crawford said. "If we lost, the season was probably over."
She scored two tie-breaking goals in the fourth period to force the overtime period, then - despite hesitance - fired the game-winner from outside, lifting San Diego State 12-11.
"Everything was going through my mind, 'should I do it, should I not?' I know you miss every shot you don't take. So you might as well try it," she said. "It wasn't sudden-death overtime yet, so I knew it wouldn't come down to that, and I took it. I took a skip shot, and I knew their goalie likes to go up - when you shoot, her arms go up right away - so I thought a skip shot might get by. It worked out."
- - -
Game-breaking goals were routine for Gautschi back in high school - back when she'd find the net more than 100 times each season. Even as a freshman she was a team leader, said Live Oak coach Mack Haines, who skippered Ronni and her brother, Ryan Gautschi.
"They were both inherited gifted athletes," Haines said during a telephone conversation Monday. "At birth, you could throw them in the water and they'd still swim.
"Ronni was gifted in her ability to swim before she could start working out. She's an intense competitor; disciplined in her will to win. In order to be a Division I scholarship athlete, you need those things. The natural ability and drive and desire to win - she had that in high school."
Gautschi earned first- or second-team all-CIF Central Coast Section honors in each of her four years at Live Oak and put her time in during swimming season in spring. Gautschi's heart was always in water polo, though, her mother said.
"People think I would have pushed her to swim more," Lynn Gautschi said. "But that's what special about Ronni and water polo - it's all her. She likes being part of a team. You're part of a team with swimming, too, but it's different with water polo. You're right there with your teammates, and she loves that.
"For me, it's been one of the greatest things - watching her."
In some sense, Lynn is watching herself, a once talented teenager with Olympic aspirations - not to mention a striking resemblance. Lynn's circa 1966 portrait that hangs in her study could be either Gautschi.
"I love that picture - it's one of the few shots of myself I really love," Lynn said. "When I see it, I see Ronni."
Not having her mom at games was one of many growing pains for Gautschi during her freshman year. Although the two talk frequently - at least four phone calls a day, Lynn said - face time has no substitute.
"I'm not going to lie, freshman year was hard," Ronni said, her voice getting quieter. "I was miserable being away from home, then there was water polo.
"In high school, I was the best and it felt great. When you get to college, everyone's the best! And you're playing with a whole pool full of people just as good, if not better than you. It took a while for me to get used to it."
Ronni said her performance suffered. She spent the first few months of the season getting out of high-school mode and relying more on her teammates.
"I was selfish," she said. "I wasn't used to passing the ball around. I'm starting to do that now. You have to grow up sometime."
Gautschi's heart seems to be in the right place - the rest is still catching up, though, as shown in Sunday's finale against Michigan. Gautschi was pulled from the game for good in the second period following her second exclusion call in less than a minute. After a quick "one-sided" chat with Crawford, Ronni spent the rest of the afternoon in the shade. She touched the ball four times.
"That was torture," Gautschi said before addressing one of her fouls. "I guess I've got to learn, but I don't feel like I did anything wrong. I didn't kick the girl I fouled that hard the second time."
Added Crawford: "She plays with a lot of raw emotion. I took her out because I didn't want her to get a third foul and have her not be able to come back in if we needed a goal. ... I told her to play smarter. She has to learn to avoid getting into foul trouble. I think this game was a good example of where her learning curve is.
"You take a beating at center, and Ronni has a high tolerance for pain; a high tolerance for the abuse a center takes, and she just has an amazing future with us. Being a part of two NCAA teams is already something special."
Michigan almost spoiled the show. The Wolverines erased a three-goal deficit in the third quarter, getting goals from Sharayah Hernandez and Carrie Frost.
Gonzales answered with a penalty-shot goal two minutes into the final quarter, giving the Aztecs a lead they would not relinquish.
"I'm very impressed with the way our girls battled today," Crawford said. "We knew we were playing a team that was going to play like a team we beat twice. They challenged us, but we responded."
San Diego State was on the opposite side of the story Friday against UC Davis, having to claw back each time the Aggies rebuilt their lead. Despite two goals from Gautschi, UC Davis prevailed 9-8.
"That was beyond disappointing," Ronni said.
Added Crawford: "It took a great effort from the girls to get back on track and stay focused."
The Aztecs did but, after beating Michigan, celebrated half heartedly. They waited a second after the final horn to cheer.
Ronni, who fidgeted in her chair most of the game, was the last player to stand up. She followed her teammates to the center of the pool deck to welcome the final shift, then found her mom in the sun-drenched stands.
As their eyes met, Lynn mouthed, "it's okay."
- - -
To understand Ronni's character, you have to understand her physical structure - or lack thereof.
Gautschi entered the press conference room Saturday wearing her battle scars on her sleeves. A bulky ice bag was fastened to her right shoulder, another at her left knee. She had a small cut on her nose, overshadowing a tan Cheshire smile.
"Injuries are part of life," she mulled. "You have to work through them just like anything else."
Gautschi has played through injury since she was 16. During the past four years, she's blown out both knees and suffered a torn labrum in her shooting arm. She played with shoulder and knee problems all through high school, Haines added.
"Ronni always found a way to fight through them," he said. "They hung her up sometimes, but when it was game time, she was ready to go."
Ronni's torn labrum was never more noticeable than when she took her first shot Saturday from eight meters out - she drew a 3-iron back and ended up putting. The yellow orb slipped from her hand and bounced twice in front of the bewildered Pomona Pitzer goalkeeper, Elana Peifer.
"That was so embarrassing!" she said, laughing. "I went to shoot, and my shoulder completely locked up. It didn't go even close.
"I have to find a spot where my arm doesn't lock in order to shoot. I did that for my second shot, and it went in."
Ronni has had three knee surgeries and is set to have her shouldered operated on May 29 - a date she and Lynn have highlighted.
Ronni commiserates with her friend and teammate Erica Dill, whom she shares a town house with off campus. Dill, a junior, had a shoulder injury similar to Ronni's early in her college career and is recovering from a broken right wrist.
"Living with her has been awesome," Dill said. "She's probably the strongest person I know. It's incredible that she's playing with the injuries she's had. Whenever I'm feeling sorry for my wrist, I just look at Ronni and say it can't be that bad."
Ronni doesn't think injury will affect her chances of reaching her next goals: taking the Aztecs back to the NCAA Championships as a junior and senior - and, of course, following in Lynn's footsteps as an Olympian. The latter road is difficult, but one she's hoped to trek since learning to swim in her mom's pool.
"I still want to do all that if I can," she said. "Is it possible for me to be an Olympic water polo player? Yes. Is it likely? I'm not sure. But I'm ready to give it my best shot."
So are we.
Scott Adams Scott Adams covers Morgan Hill sports for South Valley Newspapers. Send him an email or call him at 779-4106.
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The road to nationals
The road to nationals
Best in bus, again
