Pregame Playlist: Daria Gusarova

Before every game, match, or meet every athlete has a go-to playlist that they listen to before to get themselves ready for action. In Pregame Playlist we hear what student-athletes' playlists mean to them! Today, lets talk to Daria Gusarova of Beach Volleyball, who shows us what gets her fired up ahead of the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship.

GoStanford.com: What’s your favorite song on this playlist and why?

Daria Gusarova: My favorite song in my playlist right now is “all of me” by 21 Savage. I love listening to 21 Savage before games as it gets me locked in and hyped up at the same time. His collaborations with other artists are great too.

GS: Who are your favorite artists these days?

DG: My current top artists are J. Cole, 21 Savage, Bad Bunny, and Lost Frequencies. I have a lot of their songs in most of my different playlists, so there is definitely overlap, but my music preference is pretty situational and depends on the day.

GS: What about this playlist gets you ready for competition?

DG: My pregame playlist overall is super hype and has all kinds of artists and songs. These are songs we would listen to as a team in the locker room before games (we love to have a good pre-game dance party), and on the bus when we travel for gameday. We also love to play hype music on the courts when we warm up! We rotate between all kinds of songs and add new ones all the time. The playlist is always changing, which is great!

GS: How would you describe your music taste in general?

DG: My music taste is pretty all over the place. I don’t really have a favorite genre or hate any particular genre. My favorite artist has been J. Cole for a really long time now, and I listen to him mostly. For practice and gameday, however, I love to listen to all kinds of music, from EDM and house to country music—it depends on the day!

GS: Does this playlist different from what you listen to normally? If so, how come?

DG: I don’t always listen to hype music, and my pregame playlist definitely has a lot more of that. I like to listen to chill music when I do homework or am just hanging out with friends, such as Lost Frequencies or Grentperez. I would say the music I listen to regularly is very different from my pregame playlist.

GS: Any unique stories behind what these songs meant to you or your team?

DG: Funny story — my team’s freshmen participated in the Dancing With the Card dance competition this year and performed a hype dance for the song “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME” by GloRilla, and they won the Fan Favorite Award! That’s why this song has been at the top — it has brought good vibes when we have played it this year before games, and brings hype energy before we begin warmups. I love how music brings our team together and sets good vibes for gameday, which is perfect for our sport.

GS: How does your music taste compare to the rest of your team’s?

DG: I love to be on aux when our team practices or when we are in the locker room, so I feel like generally my music taste aligns with my team’s. I’ve made several playlists for our practices, including more throwback songs and also a playlist with Spanish music. We all have very diverse music tastes, which makes it super fun, and I always end up discovering new music from teammates when we rotate on aux.

GS: Describe your relationship with music, and how/if that relates to your sport.

DG: Music has become a really huge part of my life. I never really used to listen to music until about two years ago, but now I listen to music for hours a day. We also play music during lift and all throughout practice, and music also plays throughout our games, non-stop. I feel like my music taste has grown a lot, and I love listening to music with my teammates and friends. I love how it brings people together, but at the same time is such an individual thing. It’s definitely a big part of our sport, and I love that we always have it in our background when we practice and play.

Check out Daria's full playlist below.