Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
Gael Spotlight | Abbey Mariani
4/30/2019 11:39:00 AM | General, Softball
The Concentric Wealth Management Gael Spotlight is a monthly Q&A by SMCGaels.com with a Saint Mary's student-athlete to get to know our Gaels more closely.
MORAGA, Calif. — With the softball season winding down, SMCGaels.com talked to senior student-athlete Abbey Mariani this month about her time at Saint Mary's and her upbringing on a family-owned nut orchard.
Q: What was your life like growing up?
AM: I grew up in Winters which is by Davis; it's a small farming town. My family farms nuts and we live on a walnut orchard. We farm various types of nuts like almonds and pistachios in different locations too. My dad also grows rice and wheat as well.
Q: Do you think growing up on a farm has taught you any life lessons?
AM: Definitely. I think from a young age I was taught to work hard and that nothing was going to be given to me. My grandpa taught my dad that too. My dad is always up super early and comes back late and I think he instilled that in myself and my brothers.
Q: Is it true that the nut company is involved at Saint Mary's?
AM: Yeah! My cousin used to play for the baseball team here and was sending nuts to the baseball locker room. The guys were sending me snapchats saying things like "thanks for the nuts!" but I realized my team didn't even have them. I called my dad right away and told him to send us some nuts so now we have a huge supply and always get shipments in.
Q: What brought you to Saint Mary's?
AM: Winters is a small town with only about 6,000 people and before that I went to a small Catholic school and high school so I wanted the "small town" feel. Actually, there a lot of Saint Mary's alumni from Winters that we are family friends with.
Q: Did you play other sports growing up?
AM: Yeah. I played soccer, basketball, and volleyball, pretty much all sports. My sophomore year in high school is when I fully went into softball and that's all I played.
Q: What was your favorite softball memory while at Saint Mary's?
AM: My favorite memory was beating BYU when they were ranked in the top-20. It was a walk-off win and it was the best feeling because they had gone undefeated in conference play. They're usually pretty good and to beat them at home was really cool. I think we have a good chance to upset them again this year.
Q: As a senior, how do you feel about your final season coming to a close?
AM: I'm looking forward to it being done but also sad that it's coming to an end. Those are some of my best friends on the team and not being able to be with them is pretty sad but I think you come to a point where you realize it's time to move on. I've been playing softball my whole life so I'm excited for a new chapter.
Q: Do you plan on working for the nut company after graduation?
AM: I don't think I'll work for the company right now. I want to go into events and marketing for wineries but I definitely want to come back in a few years and bring back new knowledge. I want to expand our marketing, especially with social media.
The Gaels return to the field this Friday as they host BYU at 3 p.m. More information for the game and live stats can be found on the team's schedule page.
MORAGA, Calif. — With the softball season winding down, SMCGaels.com talked to senior student-athlete Abbey Mariani this month about her time at Saint Mary's and her upbringing on a family-owned nut orchard.
Q: What was your life like growing up?
AM: I grew up in Winters which is by Davis; it's a small farming town. My family farms nuts and we live on a walnut orchard. We farm various types of nuts like almonds and pistachios in different locations too. My dad also grows rice and wheat as well.
Q: Do you think growing up on a farm has taught you any life lessons?
AM: Definitely. I think from a young age I was taught to work hard and that nothing was going to be given to me. My grandpa taught my dad that too. My dad is always up super early and comes back late and I think he instilled that in myself and my brothers.
Q: Is it true that the nut company is involved at Saint Mary's?
AM: Yeah! My cousin used to play for the baseball team here and was sending nuts to the baseball locker room. The guys were sending me snapchats saying things like "thanks for the nuts!" but I realized my team didn't even have them. I called my dad right away and told him to send us some nuts so now we have a huge supply and always get shipments in.
Q: What brought you to Saint Mary's?
AM: Winters is a small town with only about 6,000 people and before that I went to a small Catholic school and high school so I wanted the "small town" feel. Actually, there a lot of Saint Mary's alumni from Winters that we are family friends with.
Q: Did you play other sports growing up?
AM: Yeah. I played soccer, basketball, and volleyball, pretty much all sports. My sophomore year in high school is when I fully went into softball and that's all I played.
Q: What was your favorite softball memory while at Saint Mary's?
AM: My favorite memory was beating BYU when they were ranked in the top-20. It was a walk-off win and it was the best feeling because they had gone undefeated in conference play. They're usually pretty good and to beat them at home was really cool. I think we have a good chance to upset them again this year.
Q: As a senior, how do you feel about your final season coming to a close?
AM: I'm looking forward to it being done but also sad that it's coming to an end. Those are some of my best friends on the team and not being able to be with them is pretty sad but I think you come to a point where you realize it's time to move on. I've been playing softball my whole life so I'm excited for a new chapter.
Q: Do you plan on working for the nut company after graduation?
AM: I don't think I'll work for the company right now. I want to go into events and marketing for wineries but I definitely want to come back in a few years and bring back new knowledge. I want to expand our marketing, especially with social media.
The Gaels return to the field this Friday as they host BYU at 3 p.m. More information for the game and live stats can be found on the team's schedule page.
Players Mentioned
UT
/ SoftballSB | Highlights at LMU, 5-10-25 G2
Saturday, May 10
SB | Highlights at LMU, 5-10-25 G1
Saturday, May 10
SB | Highlights at LMU, 5-9-25
Friday, May 09
SB | Highlights vs San Diego, 5-4-25
Sunday, May 04
