CSUF loses homestand against Hawai i

4 Sports Men’s golf opens playoffs

CSUF shot 12-overpar in the frst round of the Big West championships.

TAMEKA POLAND Asst. Editor

Cal State Fullerton’s men’s golf is in fifth place with a score of 12-over-par, 300 after round one of the Big West men’s championship at the La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, California.

The Titans hit the road with five players: Garrett Boe, Harry Doig, Matt Rafter, Trevor McNary and Teagan Andrews.

At the top of the leaderboard in team play is Long Beach State with a score of 1-under-par 287, which is 13 strokes ahead of the Titans as they get ready for round two. Cal Poly SLO and UC Davis are not too far behind as they are tied for second place with a score of 8-over-par 296, with UC Santa Barbara in fourth place with a score of 11-overpar 299.

While UC Davis holds the second place spot for team play, they currently occupy the top spot on the individual leaderboard as Lucas Carper is in the lead with a score of 2-under-par 70 after round one.

However, in a tight match that was separated by one point per position, Long Beach State has three players tied for second place: Hunter Epson, Clay Seeber and Isaac Rodea with a score of 1-under-par 71. Thomas Hutchison from UC Davis holds fifth place at even par.

For the Titans, Boe leads the team individually, tied in sixth place with Luke Adam from Cal Poly SLO, John Bush from UC Santa Barbara and Justin Ngan from Hawaii with a score of 1-over-par 73.

Fellow teammates Doig is tied for 10th place, Andrews is tied for 23rd place and Rafter is tied for 25th place. However, McNary is having a tough shooting day as he currently sits at 43rd place out of 45 individuals players with a score of 13-over-par 85, looking to make a comeback in round two tomorrow.

Fullerton has shown promise as they sit in the middle of the pack at fifth place out of nine teams in the tournament. UC Riverside has struggled in team play as they round out the bottom of the team leaderboard with an overall score of 43-over-par 331. Individually, they sit near the bottom after round one as Jun Seung Yi scored 14-over-par 86 and Taiga Iwasa went 16-overpar 88, placing 44th and 45th respectively.

The Titans have been up and down all season as they started the season with a second place finish in the Orange County Classics at Coto De Caza golf club, but have not achieved better than fifth place since back in February.

Fullerton looks to move up in the competition as they get ready for round two, set to start May 3 at La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, California.

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“In the MLB they say you get a guy in a stressful situation — by the third time he’s going to crack,” said CSUF head coach Rick Vanderhook after Sunday’s game. “I think that third time turned into a crooked number.”

Hawai’i had eight players record a hit on Sunday, but none more impactful than designated hitter Dustin Demeter, who delivered four hits with six RBIs, including a two-run home run.

In the top of the sixth inning, Demeter cleared the bases with a three-run double after Stone Miyao worked a walk; Tyler Murray singled up the middle and Scotty Scott reached on a hit by pitch. Upon Demeter’s double, Murray was ejected from the game while standing on first base as a result of arguing calls with the first base umpire.

While the Titans registered seven hits, catcher Cole Urman delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, sending it through the right side of the infield as Deyland Pigford scored on an error by Hawai’i right fielder Tyler Best.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Urman tacked on another RBI to his evening, sending home Isaiah Garcia with a base hit to center field.

“Cole Urman is a good baseball player,” Vanderhook said. “He’s gotten things going. I thought he caught really good and he’s playing at a high level.”

Urman was Fullerton’s toughest out at the plate this weekend, distributing six hits over the three games in which he played, including four RBIs. Urman has improved his season average to .320, the third-highest on the team.

While Urman’s bat was a bright spot on Sunday, Hawai’i starter Logan Pouelsen gave the Titans very few opportunities to have a big inning. Pouelsen went the distance, as he threw a complete game in which he allowed two earned runs on seven hits and striking out eight.

The Titans move to a 1821 record on the season and 11-9 in the Big West. Fullerton’s conference record puts them tied for third place, trailing just UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara in the Big West standings.

“We’re just looking at next weekend — that’s all we can do,” Vanderhook said. “We go out and play baseball. Hopefully Zac Lew, the littlest guy on the team, gets back pretty soon because he’s a pretty big part of the team.”

Fullerton will continue their conference slate this weekend, hosting UC San Diego for a four-game series. Game one is scheduled for Friday at 5 p.m.

Titans stomp the Mustangs

CSUF earned a three game sweep over Cal Poly SLO on the road last weekend.

HUGO RIOS Asst. Editor

Cal State Fullerton softball breezed by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in a threegame sweep on Friday and Saturday, which continued their undefeated run in the Big West conference.

In game one, pitcher Sophie Frost recorded another win to add to her impressive senior season, and threw her fourth complete game shutout of the season with a line of seven hits, three walks and two strikeouts.

Senior Julia Valenzuela led the team with two RBIs and a run scored in three at bats, while senior outfiler Kelsie Whitmore and sophomore Daisy Munoz both extended their on-base streak to 23 games.

Fullerton won the game with a final score of 5-0 in seven innings.

Game two was closer than the final score showed, as the Titans only led by two runs heading into the fifth inning. However, Whitmore hit a home run on the first pitch in the inning, sparking a eight-run rally that would ultimately seal the game for the Titans, winning 10-0 in five innings via mercy rule.

Whitmore went 2-for-3 at the plate as well, and scored three runs to help secure the victory in the first game of the doubleheader.

Frost earned her second win of the series and pitched four scoreless innings, while junior Alexia Silvas came in for relief and pitched a scoreless inning. Frost now has a record of 18-3 in 23 starting appearances.

The Titans were clicking all around in game three as multiple players had great performances to finish the series. Scoring five runs in the first inning, the Titans never gave up their lead and scored in four out of five innings played, winning by a score of 15-2.

Whitmore, who earned Big West fielder of the week, went 3-for-3 with a double and two home runs to go along with her six RBIs and four runs scored in game three. She also extended her hitting streak to 14 games as well as extending her on-base streak to 25 games along with Munoz.

Freshman KK Humphries also had an impressive night going 3-for-3, hitting a home run in the first inning that helped push the momentum for the Titans.

Pitcher Dani Martinez earned her third win of the season as the sophomore was then followed by a couple freshman pitchers in Staci Chambers and Ellie Zellien who both threw a scoreless inning in relief. Martinez finished with a line of 3.0 inning, two hits, two earned runs, two walks and two strikeouts.

The Titans have now won 20 straight series’ in the Big West and have won 25 straight games in Big West play.

Fulllerton continues their dominant conference play as they host Hawaii for a pair of doubleheaders beginning on Friday. The first game is set to begin at 3 p.m. followed by a game at 5 p.m.

Records set at track and field invitationals

ANDREA MORA Asst. Editor

Cal State Fullerton’s track and field team split up on Thursday and Friday to compete in a pair of meets at the UC Riverside and Long Beach State invitationals where they set back-to-back new records.

On day one of UC Riverside Invitational, Samantha Huerta shattered the previous meet record by 15 seconds with a time of 4 minutes and 23.49 seconds in the women’s 1500-meter, followed almost immediately by Sam Pimentel, who broke the meet record in the men’s 1500m record with a time of 3:50. Dana McGrath set a new personal record as she placed fifth in the women’s 1500m.

In the women’s 3000-meter steeple chase, Sara Hollis won with a time of 10:35.36. Clara Meade finished third place in the women’s 5000-meter with a time of 17:49.64, while teammate Demi Marine finished fifth overall.

During Friday’s track events, Charles Kelly broke a CSUF record set in 2018 in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.15 seconds, which now leads the Big West conference. Fellow hurdler Matt Kohen also set a new personal best of 14.78, placing fourth overall. In the women’s 100-meter hurdles, Karyn Best ran a season-best time of 14.69 seconds.

In the men’s 400m, Parris Samaniego took first with a time of 48.08 seconds, and Sam Ayala won the men’s 800m with a time of 1:52.79.

Nathyn Scruggs finished second with a time of 10.86 seconds in the men’s 100m and took second in the 200m with a time of 21.68 seconds. Meanwhile, in the women’s 100m, Naiah Boardingham took third place with a time of 12.10 seconds, and Deja Allain secured third place in the women’s 200m with a time of 24.80 seconds.

At the Long Beach Invitational, Andrea Woods won with a throw of 119 feet and 11 inches in the women’s javelin, and Sinai Fatafehi placed third in the women’s hammer with a toss of 174 feet and 2 inches.

On the men’s side, Davis Yasuda placed third with a throw of 187.1 feet in men’s javelin and Conor Anderson threw 194.8 feet which was good enough to place second in men’s hammer throw.

Closing out Saturday’s meet, Sean Ayale marked a new personal best as he placed third overall in men’s long jump with a jump of 23 feet and 4 inches, placing himself seventh in the Big West conference. Iesha Hamm remained undefeated on the season after she cleared 5 feet and 10 inches in women’s high jump, continuing to lead the Big West as the championships approach.

Ty Wallace placed third in women’s triple jump as she leapt 39 feet, 10 ½ inches, and currently holds the second-best triple jump in the Big West by just five inches. Ernesto Collazo won with a jump of 4.81 meters, or 15 feet, 9 ¼ inches in the men’s pole vault while Juwan Seales cleared 49.5 feet for men’s triple jump, placing his mark as the third-best in the conference.

CSUF will compete at the Big West championships as the events are set to begin Friday in Irvine.

Charles Kelly (middle), seen here on April 22, broke the school record in the men’s 110m hurdles on Friday at the UC Riverside Invitational. (CSUF Athletics)

Tennis loses semifinal match to Cal Poly SLO

The Titans’ season ended on Saturday in the Big West championships.

ALLISON SWEIGARD Sta Writer

Cal State Fullerton women’s tennis season came to an end after being defeated by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 4-0 in the semifinals of the Big West championship.

“Unfortunately today there had to be a winner and loser, but just kind of looking back where we started in the fall and the spring and just you know the situation our team was where we didn’t even know if we were gonna be able to fill six players,” said Dianne Matias, CSUF head coach.

Fullerton started the day on Saturday with a win in the doubles matches as they tried to set the tone for the semifinals. YuSeung Suh and Natalie Duffy beat their opponents 6-2 in the first double match of the day.

However, the next two matches the Titans fell short of snagging any more doubles points against Cal Poly. Fullerton’s Eira Tobrand and Misaki Kobayashi were defeated by their opponents, 6-3 and just a few minutes later Camila Garcia and Jadie Acidera were also defeated by their opponents, 7-5.

Heading into the singles matches, Fullerton trailed the Mustangs, 1-0. Kobayashi, the No. 1 singles player for Fullerton, was defeated in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0, by Cal Poly’s Dominique Stone.

Moments after, Suh lost to her opponent in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, giving the second singles point to the Mustangs.

The clinching point went to the Mustangs at No. 3 singles when Acidera lost to her opponent in a tiebreaker, 6-1. This was the Titans’ first loss in April after they went unbeaten in their last six matches.

Juliette Daries, Duffy and Tobrand’s singles matches were all left unfinished.

“We did everything we could, unfortunately, Cal Poly just took it to us today. We had opportunities, small windows here and there and we just couldn’t capitalize, but I feel like we competed well, we gave it our all,” Matias said.

On Thursday, the Titans had a strong start in the tournament as they defeated the UC Irvine Anteaters 4-0 in the quarterfinals, which advanced them to the semifinals on April 30 to square off against the Cal Poly Mustangs.

The quarterfinals doubles started off rough for Fullerton when Suh and Duffy were defeated 6-4. The Titans made a quick turnaround as Tobrand and Kobayashi won, 6-4. Moments later, Garcia and Acidera also defeated their opponents, giving the Titans the doubles point.

In the singles matches, fellow Titans Tobrand, Duffy and Daries beat their opponents in straight sets, giving the Titans three more points and the quarterfinals victory against UC Irvine.

For the Titans, this weekend marked the final match for seniors, Acidera and Taylor Valenzuela, including Genevieve Zeidan, who also served as the team’s student assistant coach. With the majority of Fullerton’s core players remaining, the Titans will hope to make another deep run in the postseason when they return to the court next year.

Six steps to surviving end of semester burnout

JESSICA BENDA Editor

At the start of the semester, sending an email was easy. Now, it can be exhausting.

College students are closing in on the last month of classes, and many are sputtering through school without any energy left. Daily routine has become monotonous. Assignments are never-ending. After the backbreaking workloads that students have carried, chiropractors will be all booked up.

The end of year burnout is notorious, but nearing two full virtual semesters has bolstered the feeling. Trying to pass the classes without any energy is taxing and may seem impossible, but why trip at the finish line?

Here’s a survival guide to keep those waning spirits (and grades) up.

1) Get out of the house

As healthy as it sounds to stare at a laptop for 16 consecutive hours, too much time working can cause productivity to crumble.

Many know the feeling of a brain stalling out. A sentence takes five re-reads to understand. Words float on the screen. Instagram has been checked five times and YouTube has been opened twice out of sheer boredom. At that rate, it often takes twice as long to finish an assignment.

With no in-person classes and working from home, some students can be in their rooms for days at a time. But after an hour-long walk outside, that essay may only take two hours instead of five. So go out to lunch, stop at the store or meet up with a friend. Turns out that moms may have been onto something when they told us to go outside and get some fresh air.

2) Recharge

Sleep deprivation should be synonymous with college.

After all, students practically keep coffee shops in business, inhaling caffeine to make it through another day of work. While sleeplessness may be the cultural norm, it plays a large part in end of the year burnout.

Lack of sleep increases the chances of negative side effects for students, like an inability to concentrate, anxiety and slipping grades, according to Stanford Medicine. So while it may seem like no big deal to live off a nightly four hours of rest, a lack of sleep may be the reason for screaming brains nationwide.

In short, go to bed.

3) Keep an agenda

While it may be tempting to stop at the first two steps, it won’t be enough to keep those slipping grades up.

As burnout worsens, it becomes easier for little things to slip by. A brief assignment is forgotten, a paper is late and the no exceptions rule for late work becomes a backstabber when a quiz is missed by an hour. When working online, the days blend together and it becomes even easier to forget about assignments or about class itself.

Logging each assignment in an agenda can assist in keeping everything straight. Whether it’s a hard-copy planner from Target or the free MyHomework app on your phone, being able to look at everything due in the week ahead may be able to keep a burned brain alive.

4) Take it one task at a time

That new planner will probably be close to full. In 2019, over 80% of students reported feeling overwhelmed by their tasks, according to a National College Health Assessment. That was before a pandemic derailed normalcy as we know it.

Often the work ahead feels like too much to handle. So while it’s good to plan ahead, don’t look too far into the future. Try to focus on one thing at a time. Climb the mountain step by step — because if it’s seen as a whole, it may seem like too much to handle.

When wrestling with burnout, mindset is a major part of making it through.

5) Complain

Often, the advice given to students is to keep their chins up and look at the bright side. While positivity can be helpful, too much of it can lead to them suppressing their true feelings. Keeping burnout bottled up is isolating, and with thousands of other students feeling the exact same way, there’s no need to keep it all inside.

Granted, don’t take it too far and complain constantly. But every now and then, it’s healthy to vent with friends about how draining the semester has been. Chances are, many of them feel the same way. Walking with burnout is tough, but walking with others makes it a little easier.

6) Make plans for the future

Don’t look into the immediate future, like at the overwhelming agenda, but focus on what’s beyond that. Make plans for summer. Find something to look forward to, whether that be taking a trip with friends or simply having enough time to clean around the house. When overwhelmed, it’s healthy to have a happy place or something to keep motivation up.

Stress is temporary. Grades will fade. And eventually, so will burnout.

Club raises funds for cancer research

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society club’s Man and Woman of the Year competition honors survivors.

MARIA MARQUEZ Sta Writer

As the spring season spurs new feelings of hope, Cal State Fullerton’s Leukemia and Lymphoma Society club kicked off its campaign to raise funds and awareness for blood cancer treatment and research.

The club, although very new to CSUF, is striving to make a big difference in leukemia and lymphoma research by aiding in the process of providing funds for treatments that go toward oncology and hematology. This semester, the club joined the annual Man and Woman of the Year campaign, which awards the team member who raised the most funds for the club.

The campaign began on March 31 and will last 10 weeks, ending on June 13. The team that raises over $50,000 is given the opportunity to select a research portfolio to fund and name after a survivor or in memory of someone who has passed away due to leukemia or lymphoma. If they were to win, the club has decided to donate its funds towards the Children’s Initiative, which helps children receive the right forms of treatment.

“There are so many kids that get adult treatments and therapies and sometimes it doesn’t really help, so if we could fund something that is specifically made for children they may have a better chance of being a survivor,” said Arleen Galestanian, the club’s president.

Galestanian founded the club at Fullerton after seeing one at UCLA that has been successfully reaching more people and creating an impact.

The club’s executive board is composed of members who have a strong connection with the mission behind the club’s campaign.

“I became very interested because I personally have been impacted in my life in several different instances by leukemia and lymphoma.” said Molly Jimenez, the club’s vice president. “Looking into the organization they do so much great work to help others, and this was just something right up my alley for joining.”

Fundraising director Frank Osorno stumbled across the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through a Reddit post stating that the club was looking for members and executive board members, but his connection goes deeper than that -- at the age of two and a half he was diagnosed with leukemia.

“This was a great opportunity to work with the community. It’s something I had never done before, even though I was diagnosed myself, I really wanted to contribute and help make a change in research, the research that helped me,” Osorno said.

For Alexis Ruiz, events financial director, her career goal is pediatric hematology oncology, which is specific to blood cancers. She was looking for a way to get involved on campus to something that was associated with that, and the club was the perfect fit when she saw that the foundation funds many of the treatments that are making progress in the hematology and oncology fields.

“Cancer is one of those things in this world that does not discriminate, anybody and everybody has been touched by it, and I think that’s what makes our club so diverse is that everyone has a connection, specifically to blood cancer,” Ruiz said. “If we can make it so that people in the future have better chances of not hearing those words, that your kids or you have cancer, and it’s not a death sentence and it’s treatable and something that LLS can fund, I’m all for it.”

The statistic that 85% of the medications that the clubsupports gets approved by the FDA was the one that caught the attention of club member Amanda D’Ambrosio. D’Ambrosio saw this as the perfect opportunity to get direct practice and experience.

“I think you can join the club for all different reasons,” D’Ambrosio said. “A lot of people are like, ‘I’m not a bio major, so i’m not going to join.’ But, there is something in it for everyone.”

Every three minutes someone is diagnosed with blood cancer and every nine minutes someone dies of it. Fullerton’s student chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society welcomes anyone who is passionate about educating others and supporting the LLS community to join the team on the Man and Woman of the Year campaign, as well as attend events that fund the campaign or make a donation on their websites to help them exceed their goal of $50,000.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society club members: ( rst row) Arleen Galestanian, Molly Jimenez, Tiana Park, Michael Cleland, Dwiti Patel, (second row) Emily Garcia, Cossette Sanqui, Tristan Tran, Frank Osorno, Tananshi Chopra, (third row) Alex Logvy, Ivone Hernandez, Alexis Ruiz, Kate Petach and Julie Woo. (Arleen Galestanian)