echo times issue for november 1, 2014

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College of Marin's newspaper, the Echo Times.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Echo Times issue for November 1, 2014
Page 2: Echo Times issue for November 1, 2014

Feature2 College of marin Nov. 1, 2014

Barry Bonds, the Home Run King*, who never won a World Series ring, celebrated with his old team.

One of the Giants’ staff members displayed World Series rings that he was given by the team in 2010 and 2012.

Although pitcher Tim Lincecum didn’t play in the World Series, he was happy to celebrate the win with his team.

Third World Series parade in five yearsPhotos by Stephanie Lee

On Halloween day, an estimated 1 million Giants fans celebrated their team’s third World Series win in five years by attending a parade on Market Street. The rain did not dampen their spirits.

Against all odds, the San Francisco Giants won their third World Series in five years. As a Giants

fan all my life, I had followed the team throughout the season. With a record of 88-72 during the regular season (second place behind the L.A. Dodgers), I still believed they had a chance.

When they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Wild Card Game (8-0), my hopes were high. I knew if they got into the National League Division Series against the Washington Nationals, it would be tough. After watching their 18-inning win in Game 2, I knew they had it in them.

In that best of five series, the Giants went 3-1 and became National League Division Series Champions.

Next, they faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series and went 4-1, beating a team that won their last World Series in 2011.

In the Wild Card World Series, they were pitted against the Kansas City Royals, whose pitching staff was supposed to be unbeatable. The Royals swept their way through the postseason to the World Series, beating the Oakland Athletics 1-0, Los Angeles Angels 3-0, and the Baltimore Orioles 4-0.

The World Series would go seven games. The last time a team had won

Game 7 away from home was in 1979, when the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Orioles in Baltimore.

My whole family gathered around the TV for each of the games with our orange rally rags in hand, souvenirs from games we attended at AT&T Park.

During the postseason I had lost five pounds, mostly due to Giant anxiety. By Game 7, I was already making plans to attend my third parade.

I was relieved after designated hitter Michael Morse hit an RBI to put us ahead 3-2, and when Madison Bumgarner came in and pitched flawlessly for five innings.

As a baseball fan, when your team wins three World Series in five years, you should support your team all the way.

On parade day, my dad, his sister, and I left Sausalito at 9:30 in the morning, drove through the rain to the city and parked in my grandparents’ apartment garage on Nob Hill. We walked down to 6th and Market, where we were able to get a front-row view. Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” was echoing from all around, along with chants of “LET’S GO GIANTS!” You could barely move in the crowd. Everyone’s open umbrellas were adding to the mayhem.

I pulled out my Nikon D5100 and began shooting. The images on these pages are only 1 percent of the photos I took.

For Halloween, everyone seemed to be dressed the same – one Giant sea of orange and black.

ECHO TIMES

By Stephanie Lee

Page 3: Echo Times issue for November 1, 2014

Feature3ECHO TIMESNov. 1, 2014

Left: During his 7-year career with the Giants, manager Bruce Bochy has won three pennants and three World Series.

Below left: Catcher Buster Posey is the first player to win three World Series rings before he turned 28, which happens to be his jersey number.

Below right: Pitcher Jeremey Affeldt was credited with the win in Game 7 of the World Series against the Kansas City Royals. He boasts that he has enough rings for each of his three sons.

Larry Baer, one of the owners of the San Francisco Giants, was chauffeured through downtown San Francisco in a gold Rolls-Royce with his wife and two children.

Left fielders Travis Ishikawa and Juan Perez got a big hand in the parade for their outstanding contributions during the postseason.

Page 4: Echo Times issue for November 1, 2014

4 College of marin Nov. 1, 2014

The author, an international student born and raised in Austria, had never ridden a horse. His knowledge of the American West was based on a cartoon.

An international student learns the ropes as a ranch handECHO TIMES

By Christoph Zachhuber

As a kid growing up in Austria in the ’90s, my idea of a cowboy was the Belgian comic book character “Lucky Luke,” who could draw faster than his shadow.

I watched the cartoon versions of “Lucky Luke” with my dad on weekends. It was dubbed in German, our native language, and featured his talking horse, Jolly Jumper.

The cartoon – set in the Wild West during the late 19th century – was my first exposure to the stereotypical cowboy culture.

Last June – almost two decades later – I rode my first horse. In Arizona. On a 50,000-acre cattle ranch owned by my girlfriend’s father.

We had planned this day for months.

I met Alexis Fenn a year ago online. We began dating in January. She attends the San Francisco Art Institute. As our relationship grew, we decided to visit her family in Phoenix last summer.

I was especially excited after she told me her father owns a ranch in Northern Arizona.

Alexis grew up in Phoenix. I was born and reared in a rural town called Bad Hall, about one hour northeast of Salzburg, Austria.

It’s not as bad as it sounds. “Bad” in German means bath and “Hall” is a word for salt. The town was founded near an iodine spring around 777 AD.

Our neighbors had horses but I had never ridden one before.So I was excited when I woke up that June morning in Arizona.The day before, Alexis, her sister Grace, their mother Danita

and I piled into a Ford F-250 pick-up and drove from Phoenix to Young, Arizona. We detoured to Sedona, near the national park, whose red rock formations were the backdrop for many Westerns, including John Wayne’s “Tall in the Saddle” (1944).

I had never been to Arizona, so the girls went out of their way to impress me. I remember a lot of tall cactuses and giant red rock

formations. Perfect for a Road Runner cartoon.

The natural beauty compensated for the suffocating 110-degree temperature outside.

As we made our way out of Sedona, we drove north. I fell asleep looking out the car window at the desert and woke up surrounded by tall pines.

We arrived in Young later that day and stopped at Antlers, the local watering hole. A sign at the register read: “NO FIREARMS ALLOWED.”

After a nine-mile, one-hour ride on a dusty, unmaintained dirt road, we pulled up to the Buzzard Roost Ranch at about 10 p.m.

The next morning, Elaina, one of Alexis’ other sisters, popped her head in the doorway, woke me up and told me to get ready to saddle up. The horses were chafing at the bit.

I wolfed down a bowl of cereal, put on my jeans and the new Sedona tank top I purchased the day before.

Feature

for a day

Editor’s note: Christoph Zachhuber, who is editor of the Echo Times, is enrolled here as an international student from Austria. The following is his first person account of a quintessential American adventure.

He’s one of about 100 international students from 30 countries who are enrolled at College of Marin. Twenty percent of them are taking Intensive English Program (IEP) classes here. But the majority – 80 percent – are registered for credit.

The top three countries that are participating in COM’s International Student Program are from South Korea (18 percent), Brazil (15 percent) and China (8 percent.)

COM does not send students abroad, but City College of San Francisco and Dominican University do have study abroad programs. COM plans on partnering with them to send interested students to other countries.

For more information about COM’s international student program, contact Jason Lau, program director of International Education, at [email protected] / (415) 457-8811, ext. 7316.

Christoph Zachhuber’s girlfriend, Alexis Fenn, tried to convert the Austrian into a cowboy.

Photos by Alexis Fenn

Page 5: Echo Times issue for November 1, 2014

5ECHO TIMESNov. 1, 2014

I noticed a black felt cowboy hat hanging from a hook beside the front door. It fit. It belonged to my girlfriend’s father, Daniel Fenn, owner of the ranch.

As I stepped outside, I looked the part. Kind of.I walked down the hill, which overlooked the stables,

a workshop, the foreman’s house, a small cabin and some of the pastures.

Everything within sight was just a tiny portion of the 78-square-mile ranch.

The place is home to 350 cows, 35 bulls, 200 calves, 15 horses, 20 dogs, chickens, cats and a goat. And three people.

Casey and Caleb, two of the resident ranch hands, had saddled the horses.

I quickly learned that a horse should always be approached slowly from an angle within its line of vision, not from the back.

As I stepped up to the horse and put my hand on the saddle horn, I realized that I had no idea how to get up on the horse and in the saddle.

“You have to get on from the left side,” Danita told me. I made my way around the horse to its left side.

“Now put your left foot in the stirrup iron and pull yourself on the horse,” she instructed.

It was easy for them to say. Alexis and her sisters have been riding horses since they were little kids.

My left foot finally found its way into the stirrup. I sensed everyone’s eyes on me. I held onto the saddle, and pulled myself up.

On my way up I thought to myself, “God, I hope I don’t fall off the other side.”

I landed safely in the saddle and felt very proud of myself. The words of praise were earned.

As everyone started off, my horse followed, but I suddenly realized I had no clue how to navigate the beast. I had the reins in my hands but had no idea what to do with them.

“Gently kick the horse in its side to make it go faster,” Alexis told me.

“The faster you want it to go, the more you have to kick it,” she said.

I tried, and it worked. “Now if you want the horse to go slower, pull

back on the reins,” she said. “You also use the reins for navigating, pulling to the right or left will make the horse go in that direction.”

It was odd for me to realize how unexpectedly easy it was.

As we were leaving, Casey informed us of a mountain lion that had killed a cow in the area. He gave us his revolver for protection.

Just to make sure, we took three of the herding dogs along. We were told they could tree a mountain lion.

The horseback ride lasted about three hours. I felt like Lucky Luke.

The green bushes and trees contrasted against the dried rocky desert soil and the bright blue sky.

Alexis and her family pointed out landmarks along the way and told me that Native Americans once inhabited the region.

As we rode through the underbrush, I regretted wearing a tank-top. Cowboys wear long-sleeved shirts to avoid scratched arms.

After our ride returned to the corral, I helped unsaddle the horses and retreated to the bunkhouse for some rest.

We explored the creek near the house in the afternoon and I was invited to help do some real ranch work that evening.

Nothing prepared me for what I was about to do.

I switched out of my tank-top and put on a long-sleeve, button-down shirt.

The horses were saddled again and waiting. We rode out onto a large pasture and began herding the cattle, separating the calves from their mothers.

Casey, the foreman, used a lasso to catch the calves. Then it was my turn with the rope.

I pulled the calf close and grabbed it by the front and hind legs, then “flanked’ it, by flipping it onto its side.

After tying up the calf, Caleb took the branding iron out of the fire. He handed it to Casey, who was kneeling next to me.

The shape at the tip of the branding iron looked a little bit like a mathematical root sign, but it was actually the Buzzard Roost’s brand.

Cattle here spend most of their lives out in the pasture, with no human interaction for weeks. If they

leave their pasture, their brand indicates which ranch they belong to.

As the red hot brand iron singed into the animals skin, it smelled like burnt hair.

“You got to make sure that all the hair is burned away,” Casey explained, as he continued branding. “So the iron actually hits the skin and creates a proper mark.”

It takes two or three grown men to hold the calf down throughout the process.

Afterwards they are de-horned, vaccinated, and the male calves are castrated.

The castrated animals are called steers.During these procedures, the animal is clearly in

distress.

The story of the Wild West has been told many times. But most Americans don’t realize that Europeans have a different view of Cowboy culture.

The novels about the Native American Winnetou and his white friend Old Shatterhand were written by German Author Karl May in the late 19th century. In the 1960s they were made into several movies.

Produced in Germany, they starred actors from France, Germany, the United States and Yugoslavia. Although they were filmed in front of a southern European backdrop, they seemed like the real American Wild West.

But come to find out, both the European and American versions of the wild West are more cartoonish than the real thing.

Zachhuber learned to rope and flank a calf at his girlfriend’s father’s 50,000-acre cattle ranch in Arizona. His first attempts proved amusing.

Nothing prepared Zachhuber for some of the things he was called upon to do, including branding and castrating a calf.

As a kid growing up in Austria, my idea of a cowboy was the Belgian comic book character“Lucky Luke,” who could draw faster than his shadow.

Page 6: Echo Times issue for November 1, 2014

London was my destination. I had been there twice with my parents. But this time it was different. I was

moving there. As I was finishing my first year at

Whittier College last Spring, I decided to study abroad as an international student.

I chose London because it is steeped

in tradition. And because it was a fantasy of mine.

As a kid I read all the Harry Potter books, and watched all the films. Repeatedly. There was a fantastic scene in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” where Harry flies over London on a broomstick with members of the Order.

My flight wasn’t as spectacular.

I boarded a Virgin Atlantic 747 flight from San Francisco International to London’s Heathrow airport with my mom last .

10 hours and 15 minutes later, we descended into a fog that blanketed the nearly 2,000-year-old city, where 8.4 million people live.

After retrieving our luggage, we boarded “The Underground,” which would take us to Ravensbourne College,

where I was enrolled in a 3-year Graphic Design program.

“This is North Greenwich,” the overhead speakers announced as the underground train slowed to a stop. “Change here for the Emirates Air Line, and the O2.”

I grabbed my 50-pound suitcase and rolled it into the elevator – called a “lift” – then walked to my flat, which was 10 minutes away.

The university was next door to the O2 Arena in southeast London, one of the largest indoor venues in the country. The Rolling Stones, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, and Brian Adams have played here.

I would soon be living alone in nearby student housing project that was still under construction. I barely knew anyone. Only 10 percent of the university’s 1,700 students are international. I didn’t feel

like I fit in.The weather turned cold and so did

my social life. After months of being cooped up in my room, I started regretting the move. I missed home. I missed my friends. I missed Whittier College.

The literature said: “Ravensbourne offers a fantastic opportunity for international students looking to develop their careers in the global creative industries.” That was not my experience,

however. I never felt so lost before.FaceTime with my friends and family

in California helped. Luckily, when I first moved to London, my best friend, Ivy, was studying there, too.

I was in class three to four days a week, for six hours at a stretch, teaching myself how to design things for projects.

It took a year to complete my six course assignments.

For one of my assignments (Mapping

Feature6 College of marin Nov. 1, 2014

ECHO TIMES

By Stephanie Lee

The author’s college dorm room window faced Canary Wharf, a major business district in London. It covers 14 million-square-feet, and provides jobs to 105,000 workers. London is more than 10 times larger than San Francisco, with a 600-square-mile area and a population 8.3 million.

COM student’s London move was a graphic learning experience

The 236-mile-long Thames River, which flows through London, is England’s longest river. In the Harry Potter movie “Order of the Phoenix,” Harry flies over the Thames.

Photos by Stephanie Lee

Stephanie Lee enjoys some tea and pastries at Ladurée.

iving along the Thames

Page 7: Echo Times issue for November 1, 2014

Feature7ECHO TIMESNov. 1, 2014

Above: The 120-year-old Tower Bridge is 800-feet-long – one -tenth length of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Left: Built on the site in the 11th century, the Parlament building, also known as Westminster, was the first royal palace.

Harrods, an upscale department store in London, occupies 5-acres and has over 330 departments, making it the biggest department store in Europe.

The 236-mile-long Thames River, which flows through London, is England’s longest river. In the Harry Potter movie “Order of the Phoenix,” Harry flies over the Thames.

Photos by Stephanie Lee

Your Personal Journey), we had to design three different personal journeys. I focused on the word usage and pronunciation differences between American-English, and the Queen’s English.

I discovered the following: In England, utensils are “cutlery.” Dinner is “tea.” Dessert is “pudding.” Highways are “motorways.” A drunk person is “pissed.” Your “bum” is your butt. A “nutter” is a crazy person. “Brilliant” means great.

And “fanny” refers to a woman’s private part.

On the first day of school, I was perplexed when my teacher asked me: “Why do you call it a fanny pack?”

People constantly asked me really stereotypical questions. I got asked numerous times, “how is Taco Bell?” And, “why do you call football, soccer?” Friends would knock on my door and ask me to make them American-style

pancakes. I would be invited to meals at Five Guys, and Shake Shack, both American burger places. All the English were also listening carefully to how I spoke, correcting me if I said something funny, like, movie theater instead of “cinema.”

One of my favorite places to visit was Borough Market near London Bridge. Considered London’s most renowned food market, it is one of the city’s oldest

wholesale fruit and vegetable markets, established by Act of Parliament in 1756. It covers an area of 4.5 acres and features exotic meats, international produce, fresh fish, and a large variety of baked goods and pastries.

Although I wanted to experience English culture, I wasted a lot of time in my room my first semester because I was

At 0 degrees longitude, Greenwich, a district of South East London, is the point from which all other world time zones are based. Clocks are set by Greenwich Mean Time.

Continued on next page

Page 8: Echo Times issue for November 1, 2014

8 College of marin Nov. 1, 2014

afraid to go out by myself.After winter break, though, I was sick

of being inside. Even though it was still freezing outside, I bought coats, gloves, scarves, hats, and umbrellas, and started exploring London on my own.

I took thousands of photographs, and frequently used my iPhone to navigate my way around the city using the Citymapper app.

I made lots of friends: Kyomi, who is studying animation and lives in the Isle of Wight; Harriet, from Brighton, and Emily, from London, are both majoring in photography; Anya and Jack are both from Norwich, and were in my graphic design class; and Petrina, from Athens, Greece, studied architecture at Ravensbourne.

I still keep in touch with them, and others who I came in contact with at school.

I made the most of my time in London by keeping a check-list and wandering around. Since Old London is quite small – about a mile and a half square – I was able to get very familiar with it.

One of the places I frequented was Covent Garden. Filled with shops and restaurants, including the famous french bakery, Ladurée, was within walking distance. So was Chinatown, Leicester Square, Oxford Street, and many other tourist spots.

At Mayfair, near Buckingham Palace, I enjoyed tea and scones with clotted cream and jam, a traditional English treat.

I loved visiting Fortnum and Mason, known as the Queen’s grocer, and indulged in their traditional English roast dinners on Sundays. Delicious roast beef smothered in rich gravy, with roast potatoes, carrots, cheesy cauliflower, complimented with a perfect Yorkshire pudding.

I took my camera everywhere and captured scenes from this thriving city. I sometimes took my sketchbook with me after class to Greenwich Park and jotted down ideas for projects while watching

the sun set behind Canary Wharf, London’s main business district.

I took a train to Oxford, and made new friends at the oldest pub there; the Turf Tavern. I visited Oxford’s dining hall, which was the inspiration for Gryffindor’s Great Hall in the Harry Potter series, and other Harry Potter film locations.

One of my friends, Will, invited me to his house in Bristol for a weekend and treated me to his family’s favorite fish and chip shop.

The next day, we took a 10-minute drive to the city of Bath, where everything is made

of stone, including the original Roman baths.

But my loneliness was compounded by the fact that my school didn’t meet my expectations. The classes that I took were mostly self taught, without much instructional support. Without direction, my grades suffered. I apparently was not alone. A lot of my friends were having

trouble, too.It was a frustrating school year for

me that dampened my passion for graphic design.

As much as I love London, I couldn’t bear the fact that I wasn’t learning much in the classroom. So I decided to move back to America.

I registered for 16 units at College of Marin this fall. I’m searching for a major and community college is the best place for that.

Although I was disappointed with my school experience in London, it was worth it. I learned a lot about myself. I proved to myself that I could live on my own in a foreign country more than 5,000 miles away from family and friends. That I could navigate around a large unfamiliar urban megalopolis. That I could make new friends and life-long memories – things not taught in a classroom.

I don’t know when I will return, but I’m still in love with London and plan to move back one day.

Maybe next time I’ll meet the Queen. Or Kate Middleton, Emma Watson, Prince Harry, J.K. Rowling… or Harry Potter.

Continued from previous page

A graphic learning experience in LondonSt. Paul’s Cathedral, which sits on top of Ludgate Hill, is the highest point in London. The 300-year-old Anglican church is the seat of the Bishop of London.

Known as Westminister, the Parliament houses the UK’s supreme legislative body.

Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication has 1,700 students.

Located in Westminster, Buckingham Palace was built in 1703. It is the London residence and workplace for Queen Elizabeth II. Known as “the Queen’s House.” The 830,000-square-foot building has 775 rooms – 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms.

I took my Nikon everywhere. It seemed like everything was worth photographing.

Photos by Stephanie Lee

Page 9: Echo Times issue for November 1, 2014

9ECHO TIMESNov. 1, 2014

Entertainment / SportsCOM stages a year in the life ‘Little Women’

Women’s varsity volleyball team drops last two games

College of Marin’s recent production of “Little Women,” which ran from September 26 to

October 12 at the James Dunn Theatre, marked the start of the Drama Department’s 50th season.

Drama instructor Lisa Morse directed the play, which is an adaption of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel.

Set in Concord, Massachusetts during the Civil War, the play focuses on the March sisters – beautiful Meg, tempestuous Jo, tender Beth and romantic Amy – and their mother Marmee.

COM’s actors portrayal of their characters was convincing – capturing the emotions of a family struggling with poverty and sickness while their father is away fighting for the Union Army in the Civil War.

Kristine Lowry did a solid job of portraying Marmee as a loving mother who cares deeply about her children.

Isabel Heaviside’s honest portrayal of Meg captured the spirit of an older sister, who runs the household when their mother is out.

Keara Reardon’s young and willful Josephine nailed the struggles of a young girl trying to subdue her strong personality.

Sophia Harris plays the sweet and shy Elizabeth with the sensitivity required of a family peacemaker.

And Sofia Cassidy delicately captures Amy, the artist of the family.

Frequent visits by their wealthy neighbor Laurie Laurence (Michel Harris) and his sweet and shy assistant John Brooke (Zachariah Thompson) helped the pacing of the play.

Harris’ self-assured depiction of Laurence was endearing, while Thompson’s character provided the much needed comic relief of the drama.

The stage, beautifully crafted by set designer Ron Krempetz, took advantage of lighting to create the impression of a two-story Civil War era home.

The home’s 19th century parlor – decorated with a piano, trunk, fireplace and bookcases – felt authentic. Blue light cast shadows upstairs, creating the illusion of a window and surrounding trees.

Patricia Polen’s wardrobe designs enhanced this mid-19th century classic.

Director Morse, who also chairs the drama department, said she chose this production because it appeals to all ages.

“I wanted to produce a play for the whole family,” she said.

Morse pointed out that construction has impacted attendance.

“Right now we face challenges like parking and construction,” she said, “but

we produce amazing shows and hope to get audiences back into the seats of the James Dunn Theatre.”

Kent middle school students exhibited artwork related to the play in the lobby of the theater. In exchange, they were invited to a free morning matinee.

Invites were also sent to senior homes around the area.

“By reaching out to older people, to younger people and to families, we are trying to bring the community back on campus,” Morse said.

Upcoming productions this season include Edward Albee’s “The American Dream / The Zoo Story” directed by W. Allen Taylor (November 21 through December 7); Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors” directed by James Dunn (March 6

through March 22); and Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” directed by Molly Noble (May 1 through May 17).

As a part of the 2014-15 season, Morse invited drama department alumni and Bay Area professionals to talk about their careers in theatre and production for the Drama Speaker Series.

The Drama Departments plans to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a fundraiser and retrospective exhibition featuring archived photos, programs, reviews and video clips from its 260 shows over the last five decades.

The exhibit will open on March 6, the same night the play “Comedy of Errors” premiers. “Comedy of Errors” was the Drama Department’s first production 50 years ago.

College of Marin’s women’s volleyball team lost their last two games on the road. They were unable to get a set point against Los Medanos last

month, and lost 3-0.The day before, they were only able to get one set

point against Yuba College, and lost 3-1.They got their third conference win against Laney

College in Oakland on October 17, with a final score of 3-0.Sophomore Diana Patrick, who graduated from

Rancho Cotate High School, led the team in that contest with 13 kills against Laney. Freshman Lexi Shreeve, 19, a graduate from Terra Linda High, scored 10 times that game.

In the three-game set, which COM dominated, the two players combined for 23 out of their team’s 38 points.

They got their second win at home, against Contra Costa College on October 15. The Mariners went 3-1 in that contest.

COM got their first conference win against College of Alameda at the beginning of October. They won their away game with a score of 3-1.

The team is currently in fifth place in the Bay Valley Women’s Volleyball standings, with a record of 5-11 overall, and 3-6 in their conference.

They may have lost a handful of games, but the Mariners are trying hard to make some adjustments. “We have a small team but we’re all getting used to playing with each other and gaining chemistry on the court,” Shreeve explains.

In the preseason, the team went 2-7, beating Contra Costa College (3-0), and Cosumnes River College (3-0).

However, the team hasn’t allowed losses to distract them. They try to learn what they need to work on from those games.

“I think we need to convert all the things we learn in

practice into our games in order to pull out some wins,” Shreeve says.

The team hopes to win more games than they did last season, where they went 5-11 in their conference, and 5-19 overall.

Even though the team has lost 11 games, the players seem upbeat about the season.

“I love our team,” sophomore Christina Thermidor, 20, says. “We have many skilled players with amazing abilities. We are competing with teams and have been playing pretty well as a whole, we just need to eliminate our simple mistakes to achieve more wins.”

Thermidor says one of the weaknesses her team has is playing down to their opponent’s level – where the team doesn’t play to their full potential. However, she says that COM’s volleyball team has the advantage of speed.

Despite their losses, the players seem optimistic about this season.

“One of our goals is to put 100 percent effort into every play, of every game this season,” Shreeve says. “Whether it’s just the mental aspect of the game or the physical.”

Each player is focused on the team’s goals.“Our team needs to be consistent. We need to attack

and commit, keep and take the lead, and always play hard,” Thermidor says.

Coach Lindsay Bacigalupi would like to improve the team’s conference standings.

“She wants us to be a successful team,” Thermidor says. “She knows we have the ability to do well in our conference.”

Their next home game, on November 5th, will be against College of Alameda, currently in sixth place.

ECHO TIMES

By Christoph Zachhuber

ECHO TIMES

By Stephanie Lee

Meg (Isabel Heaviside), Amy (Sofia Cassidy), Marmee (Kristine Lowry), Jo (Keara Reardon) and Beth (Sophia Harris) starred in COM’s production of “Little Women.”

Diana Patrick scrimmages against Clarissa Carillo and Ingrid Pu’u during practice at the Kentfield campus gym.

Photo by Patrick Brown

Photo by Robin Jackson

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