This week, dual-athlete Melanie Jue fields questions after coming off the women’s ice hockey team’s recent first-place finish in the ECAC. She explains why Canada is the best country ever, discusses her pre-game “Hoedown Throwdown” ritual and details her lunch date with Michael Phelps.

1. You have the distinction of being a dual athlete. How does that compare to being a “single” athlete?

You definitely have to time manage a lot better since you don’t have an off-season, ever. I go straight basically from the beginning of August until the middle of March usually. So yeah, it’s tough balancing things, but at the same time, I enjoy it, so it’s not too difficult.

Do you have a favorite between the two?

I don’t have a favorite necessarily. I’m a pretty active person, so I just like sports in general. My concentration’s been more ice hockey than anything, but I definitely enjoy both of them equally, and they balance each other out really well.

How?

I need more than one thing going on in my life, so whenever it gets too stressful with field hockey, I get to go to ice hockey, and when it’s too stressful with ice hockey, I get to go to field hockey, so it’s a nice balance.

I read that you missed part of the hockey season last year because field hockey was still going on. How do you decide which to miss?

Well, generally, I don’t really get a say in the matter.

Really?

Yeah, the coaches decide beforehand how everything works out, and I’m fine with that.

So is it a question of where you’re needed more?

Yeah. Well, that season, [in field hockey], we were undefeated and making a run for the Ivy League, so that was pretty important at that time.

Since both are “hockey,” are field hockey and ice hockey more similar to each other than people would think, or more different?

I mean the objective is the same, I guess. But I’d say field hockey is more similar to soccer than ice hockey. I play goalie in field hockey, so it’s a completely different sport.

Is it weird that you play different positions in the two sports? Why aren’t you a goalie in ice hockey?

Yeah. Anyone on my ice hockey team will say that I’m a goalie in a player’s body. Goalies have to have something loose up there just to be able to enjoy standing in front of a ball being fired full blast. I’ve always been fascinated by goalies, but the equipment is so expensive as an ice hockey goalie. And my mom didn’t want me standing in front of a puck and losing brain cells, so she put me on defense.

You’re No. 33 in field hockey and No. 6 in ice hockey. Why the difference?

Actually, 33 adds up to six.

Oh, was six taken?

Six is a field player. That was the closest I could get.

2. Why is field hockey such a “girl” sport? Why are there never guy’s field hockey teams?

It’s more a female sport in North America, because elsewhere, in Europe or South America, they have really good men’s teams. If you watch a really good men’s game, it’s scary. It’s not safe — it’s a hard plastic ball flying at you at like maybe 70 mph. I don’t think there’s any real big distinction.

Is it hard to be on women’s ice hockey, when the men’s team gets so much more hype?

It’s always difficult, and I’ve got a bunch of friends on the men’s team and we kid each other all the time, but you know, I think we’ve accepted it. And because we’ve been doing so well this year, we’ve gotten a lot more fans, which is nice. I understand ice hockey is predominantly more interesting on the men’s side because there’s hitting, and it’s full contact and it’s a faster game, but at the same time, I don’t think people appreciate the way that we play as well because it’s more a finesse game. More focused on skating and not just hitting.

3. What’s it like to have just won both the Ivy League and ECAC titles, as well as be named the Mid-East All-American in field hockey? You also had the highest save percentage in the Ivy League and second highest in the country.

It’s really nice to finish on a good note. I definitely have to say that my save percentage is attributed more to my defense than it was to me. They made it really easy for me this season — they did a really good job. And my team for ice hockey is just coming together really well and I’m really proud of the accomplishments we’ve achieved this season. I know for the four seniors it’s been a long journey — freshman year we won four games! So it’s a big step, and I hope that we can continue that trend for the next couple seasons.

Will there be any field or ice hockey in your future?

I don’t know, I’d like to coach. I’m thinking of maybe starting a hockey school if I can’t find a job in the real world or possibly playing in Europe for a year for field or ice hockey. It all banks on if I can get a job [laughter].

4. Your teammates said they named a fine after you. What does that mean?

On the ice hockey team, we have fines for being late or whatever, and then we have personal embarrassment fines.

Those are named after you.

I get the “Mel Jue Fine” which is for getting a little over-excited in practice. One day, we were doing a drill, and the other team lobbed the puck up pretty high. And me — being the competitive person that I am — thought I could still try to get it. So I skated towards it, and I tried to jump up to get it, hoping that I’d hit the glass and bounce off, but I kind of didn’t look, and there was no glass there, so I just did a big flip over the boards. And the puck still got out. That’s the Mel Jue Fine.

Now are we talking actual money?

Yeah.

Your coaches are allowed to do that?

No, we have a fine-master on the team. She gets quite a bit of my money.

Where does all this money go?

We pay for whatever we need, like a new stereo system. There are some people that make the fine list regularly [laughter.]

Including yourself.

Yes.

What else can you get fined for?

Public displays of affection, for our team mostly, it’s embarrassment. There’s a girl on our team, Xandra, she’s very fine-worthy.

5. Someone who isn’t Catie DeStio, said to ask how you feel when “star forward Catie DeStio” scores on you.

Me and DeStio have a very healthy, competitive relationship. She doesn’t score on me very often — I’ll say that. Usually it’s me sliding out and making a huge save on a dribbling fall that has no power behind it whatsoever. But on occasion I let her score in practice — you know, you’ve got to feel bad for the field players sometimes, because when you’re faced against the “China Wall” —

[Interrupting] Is that you?

I just made that up. When she comes down, she sees nothing but me in the net and you’ve got to feel sorry for her, so I let her score every once in a while.

And I hear you’ll block the goal with your body even without wearing pads.

Yeah. Sometimes in between drills when I’m getting water, they’ll start shooting on net. And I just really hate the sound of the ball going in the net, so I’ll just dive across the net with nothing on to try to save the ball. And they get pretty mad at me.

Doesn’t it hurt when you get hit?

Yeah, but the ball doesn’t go in [laughs].

Speaking of inappropriate dress, tell me about wearing flip-flops in the winter.

My freshman year, I wore flip-flops until February. I have a theory that if you don’t wear shoes that can get wet, your feet won’t be cold for the whole day.

Even if you’re outside?

If you’re cold, you can just walk inside and then you get warm again.

So why aren’t you doing that now?

Because it just got too cold [laughs].

6. Now before field hockey, you like to sit silently and listen to music to pump yourself up. But you also perform a certain Miley Cyrus dance.

I’ve got a “Hoedown Throwdown” partner in Alex Botte.

I’ve tried to do that dance and it’s really hard!

Yeah, we’ve perfected it. We hit it before every game. You’ve got to shake the dance floor a little bit and have some fun out there. Sometimes we do it out on the field and the other team gives us a funny look.

I was told you’re a great dancer. Is that possibly sarcastic?

Yeahhhhh. I don’t exactly have the greatest moves on the dance floor; I’m pretty stiff.

But you dance anyway?

Yeah, I don’t think Asians are really born to dance.

But Asians aren’t really known for being great athletes either.

Yeah, I don’t really know. One of my teammates says that I’m not actually Asian. I tell her I’m 100 percent Asian, and she says, “You might not even be 50 percent.”

So your friends say that they always call you Jue. So when they’re yelling your name, people wonder why they’re yelling “Jew” at an Asian girl.

I’m positive that everyone on my team has gotten a dirty look for yelling “Jew” across campus. Sometimes you don’t notice these things because they’re so used to calling me that. Once someone did it while I was walking to Mann, and like eight other people were staring at them, and I was just like, “I don’t know you.” They just look like fools.

Your teammates say you’re also a “nut job” before games, throwing a different sports ball around.

For field hockey, that’s definitely true. I always have a ball in my hand [giggles].

[Laughing] You’re in the spirit of the old 10 Questions. Anyway, why don’t you throw a puck around?

They don’t bounce. Squash balls, racquetballs, tennis balls, volleyballs, soccer balls, everything.

7. So you’re from British Columbia, Canada. Are you near Vancouver?

Yeah, I actually live five minutes away.

Are you excited about the Olympics?

9. One of your teammates said you love your job at Teagle and all that it offers. What does it offer?

That’s also going to have to be kept on the D.L. Teagle’s the best; let’s just say that.

Might this have anything to do with the athlete you have a crush on.

I have no idea what you’re talking about [giggling]. You know there are some cute options out there.

Maybe he’ll read this and know.

There’s no way.

Want to throw out a sport?

Nope [laughs]. Just keep that a mystery.

Well I need to ask you which team you’d most like to hang out with anyway.

Is there an underwater basket-weaving team?

Not a varsity one.

I think that’d be pretty cool. Or table tennis. Something obscure. Let’s give them a little bit of the spotlight.

10. And, last question as always: Which Disney character would you be if you could be any?

I would definitely be Mulan. She is badass. She saved a country. And she’s Asian. Everything’s right there. And I kind of look like Mulan, I guess. That’s what people say.

Yeah, she’s cool.

Or Pocahontas maybe. Actually I’d really like to be Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. I think that’d be my optimal character.

Yeah, it doesn’t have to be a princess.

He’s so crazy. He can roll into a ball.

Would that help your goalie skills?

I don’t know, I just think it would be really badass to just pop out whenever you want. That could be useful.

Jasmine Marcus can be reached at jmarcus@cornellsun.com. She wishes she were coordinated enough to do the Miley Cyrus dance.