 As a 14-year-old, Schoenfield was the second fastest women's 200 meter breaststroke swimmer in the country, and just missed making the U.S. team for the 1968 Summer Olympics.After semi-retiring for the next three years, she was a varsity cheerleader for Loara High School in Anaheim, California.After graduation, Schoenfield, along with her swim coach Ray Woods, began a one-year regimen of serious training in an effort to make the U.S. team for the 1972 Summer Olympics.