If it weren’t for an anxious rookie, no one would have had the chance to win a thing. The girls would have had a nice break and gone back to school. But San Diego State senior and water polo team member, Nicole Garzon, won it all. The whole thing, the grand prize: the showcase.

Fellow team member Jen Dimoff, a freshman from Camp Hill, Pa., had tried to get on “The Price is Right” before, but due to an age restriction, she could not.

Now 18 and allowed to be on the show, Dimoff decided to drag the water polo team up to Los Angeles to make a run for the money. They thought going as a team would give them a better chance to have someone called on to play.

Not only did Garzon get to play, she took home a whopping $37,000 in total prizes from the show. Garzon was victorious in what was going to be a fun team-bonding experience during Winter Break.

“It was great; I could never imagine that it would happen to me,” she said.

The trip was supposed to be a break from hell month, a time to help keep the team together during the break. The team had a long preseason during Winter Break, which made it hard for it to stay together and stay focused on the upcoming season. Head coach Deena Deardurff Schmidt agreed.

“They have a long preseason, and it’s hard to keep everyone together, so it is important that they stay together,” she said.

The girls had to leave in the wee hours of the morning to get to the studio three hours in advance to get good seating. Dimoff had to call in advance to make sure the whole team would be able to sit together.

The surprise was having one of the team members called up first. “I was in shock, jumping up and down, giving high-fives to my teammates,” Garzon said.

When Garzon’s name was announced, her teammates went wild.

“I couldn’t believe it, my team was going crazy for me,” she said.

Throughout the show, the team was screaming loudly for her; Garzon said most of the time the stage crew had to have signs to tell the contestants when it was their turn due to the crowd noise.

To get a chance to play the games, a contestant must correctly guess a price on a featured item. Garzon missed badly her first two tries.

“I was really nervous and wasn’t thinking straight,” she said.

But by the time the show was over, not only was she thinking straight, she walked away wit h the grand prize.

Winning the showcase was a dream come true for Garzon, who had no idea she would ever get the chance to be in the position to win big. She passed on the first showcase package, which included a ski boat, and bid on the second. An older woman bid too low on the first package, which gave Garzon the win.

The total prize package included a 1998 Crown Victoria, a trip for two to England, a dollhouse, a gazebo, $800 in cash, a dinette set, a popcorn maker and a microwave.Garzon will not actually keep most of the prizes. She gave the car to her mom, who then traded it in for a new Ford Explorer. She plans to take the trip to England this summer with her best friend. The microwave and popcorn maker will go in her apartment, and the rest will be auctioned off to different family members.

“It’s not that I want to charge family members, but I do have bills to pay,” she said.

After winning the big loot, most contestants feel like hugging “The Price is Right” host Bob Barker, but what did Garzon do?

“I shook his hand,” she said.

Winning has been a large part of Garzon’s career with the women’s water polo team. Since water polo became a varsity sport, the team has finished in the top three nationally for the last three years. Garzon has been there since the beginning.

The team has no stars but relies on a solid base of experienced returning players. Garzon has played a few positions on the team and has settled down as a utility player, getting most of her playing time as a driver/defender, where she excels most.

“She’s an aggressive player who knows what this team needs to do to win,” said coach Schmidt.

Garzon admits she has a few things to work on, like making the transition to offense from defense this year.

“This year, I am trying to step up my game,” she said.

Her position requires her to go from a defensive position to an offensive position when the Aztecs get the ball. She has played mostly goalie and defender during her career.

Although the team has done well the last few years, both Garzon and Schmidt believe their team has not received enough recognition. Garzon would rather be known as someone who plays for a top-three team rather than for her “Price is Right” stint.

“I’m thankful for winning, but I wish water polo would get more publicity,” Garzon said.

Schmidt believes that because her team has done well, it deserves the attention. She thinks the team gets overlooked because of the season it occupies, and because it usually doesn’t play on campus.

“The water polo team has done well the past three years, and (the players) deserve the attention,” Schmidt said. “They’ve done well in a situation that’s not ideal and in a pool that’s not a water polo regulation-sized facility.”

Currently, the Aztecs are 4-2 and are in line once again to contend for the national title.

Garzon has already tasted some sweet success. Now she hopes the team can do the same and bring home a national title.