February 12, 2015

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MUSTANG-MADE:

9 student and faculty projects around campus Kelly Trom

@kttrom

The bench you’re sitting on could have been a senior project. That sculpture you admire could have been a professor’s creation. Scattered through Cal Poly’s campus are dozens of artifacts built into the infrastructure and landscape that reinforce the Learn By Doing ideal. The following list highlights a few of the most interesting projects.

see PROJECTS, pg 4.

ASI to host spring festival this May, artists not yet confirmed Brenna Swanston

LAURA DICKINSON | THE TRIBUNE COURT | A trial setting conference for the players will determine if the case is ready to move to trial.

Football players plead ‘not guilty’ in trial arraignment Lauren Piraro Special to Mustang News

The five Cal Poly football players arrested in connection with an attempted robbery last August pleaded not guilty at their arraignment Monday.

A trial setting conference for the players is scheduled for March 30, with Jake Brito attending a trial setting conference on March 16.

The trial setting conference will likely determine if the case is ready for trial, whether disclosure documents are exchanged and if discovery is finalized.

The players, Brito, Cortland Fort, Kristaan Ivory and Dominique Love already appeared for their

preliminary hearing in January, when Judge Donald Umhofer ruled there was enough evidence to send the case to trial.

Cameron Akins also appeared in court Monday.

Fort, Love and Akins are being held on nine charges, including attempted residential robbery charges, attempted residential burglaries and false imprisonment.

During the preliminary hearing, Umhofer dismissed all but the first charge — a conspiracy charge — for Brito and Ivory. Umhofer said there was insufficient evidence to prove that Brito and Ivory aided and abetted the crimes.

Akins is also charged with counts related to resisting an officer, in addition to the nine charges.

@brenna_swanston

Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) will host a three-artist spring concert May 30 in the Sports Complex, ASI Events Director Missi Bullock said. The show is the first of its kind for ASI events.

ASI hasn’t booked artists yet, but it has brainstormed a list of ideas and plans to survey students about who they’d like to see.

Its list of potential artists is below.

Ideally, a hip-hop artist will headline the event, and supporting artists will come from the pop and rock genres, she said.

ASI plans to keep the event students-only and minimally priced, around $5 per ticket.

Echosmith Hoodie Allen Sage the Gemini Robert Delong The Colourist K. Flay George Ezra Borns The Kooks Walk the Moon CRE ATIVE COMMONS SOMETHING NEW | Hoodie Allen is one of 10 artists ASI is considering for a festival-style spring concert this May.

News... 1-3 | Arts... 4-5 | Opinion... 6 | Classifieds... 7 | Sports... 10

Thursday, February 12, 2015

NEWS | 2

CRE ATIVE COMMONS A D VA N C E S C R E E N I N G

| “Game of Thrones” stars Natalie Dormer and Kit Harington, pictured above, will grace the screens of Chumash Auditorium on April 2 in the first episode of Season 5.

Game of Thrones Season 5 premiere comes to Cal Poly early

Sam Pryor @sammpryor

Cal Poly has been selected as one of 20 schools in the United States to prescreen the upcoming Season 5 premiere of Game of Thrones on April 2 in Chumash Auditorium.

Recreation, parks & tourism administration senior Jessica McKemie, who is also HBO’s campus agent for Cal Poly, said there was no particular reason Cal Poly was chosen to screen the premiere.

The only other schools chosen

in California were University of Southern California (USC), Loyola Marymount University (LMU) and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

“I’m not necessarily sure why HBO chose Cal Poly,” she said. “I think our name may have popped up, or maybe we just got lucky.”

McKemie has the task of coordinating the event from start to finish alongside her partner, business administration junior and HBO campus agent Michael Gotto.

Their first item of business:

finding emcees to host the event.

McKemie intends to hold auditions for the positions through the theatre and dance department. Students have the opportunity to be paid based off experience, though she is open to all who are interested. Qualifications, however, are subject to change.

“It’s only week two of working with HBO, so Michael and I are still trying to brainstorm everything,” she said.

McKemie has reached out to the engineering council to see if

students would be interested in organizing teams to create their own iron throne.

“HBO would love to see the creativity that Cal Poly students have,” she said.

She is also currently in the process of trying to secure the actual iron throne used in the television series to be present at the screening.

Working closely with Associated Students Inc. (ASI) and Inter Housing Council (IHC), McKemie is finalizing the logistics.

The event is tentatively expect-

ed to start around 7 p.m. Admission is free with student ID and seat availability will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

McKemie anticipates Chumash to meet its maximum capacity of 996 people.

“If we market the right way and get the word out, I think it will be a sold-out show,” she said.

McKemie plans to hand out promotional wristbands and Tshirts to a certain number of students who arrive to the event first.

To get students excited about the event, McKemie and Gotto

will be on campus each week giving out free promotional items for the Game of Thrones series. Expected giveaways include items such as t-shirts and cups.

McKemie will be on campus Wednesdays in Poly Canyon Village and Thursdays by the red brick residence halls. She is waiting on confirmation to advertise in the University Union.

“It’s pretty unreal to be in charge of something so big with such a strong fanbase,” she said. “We have extremely high expectations for the event.”

Thursday, February 12, 2015

NEWS | 3

CSU Board of Trustees approves voluntary student fee, despite Sullivan’s opposition Jessica Nguyen @xjessnguyen

On Jan. 28, the California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees voted to approve a $4 voluntary student fee, also known as the Student Involvement and Representation Fee (SIRF), after funding models were revised.

The California State Student Association (CSSA), an organization consisting of representatives from each of the 23 CSU campuses advocating for college students, presented a SIRF proposal to the Board of Trustees for review last March.

According to Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) President Joi Sullivan, Cal Poly has always been opposed to this $4 fee due to its prior lack of budget planning.

“Not knowing where that money is going, the inflation of the budget — it’s huge,” Sullivan said. “Right now their budget is (approximately) $600,000.”

If two-thirds of the students attending CSU campuses decide to support the voluntary fee, CSSA’s budget will increase to $1.8 million, Sullivan said.

The Board of Trustees moved to approve the proposal after CSSA developed a concise expansion budget proposal, providing specific direction on where funds will be allocated with the new funding from SIRF. “I want to make sure that this process is extremely transparent, that students know the fee

exists, who CSSA is and what they can do,” Sullivan said. “I want to make sure that our future ASI presidents and Board of Directors (BOD) members are investing in CSSA because now our students are paying.”

Currently, CSSA is supported financially by system funding from the CSU Chancellor’s Office and ASI membership dues.

The campus pays $0.67 per student for membership dues through the ASI budget.

“The way that we are currently funded is through campus dues,” Cal Poly Pomona student and CSSA Chair Devon Graves said. “With SIRF, we will no longer have membership dues.”

The key objective of modifying the CSSA funding model is to increase the organization’s financial independence from the Chancellor’s Office, boosting CSSA’s credibility. CSSA plans to achieve organizational stability with a more predictable funding model compared to a fluctuating budget on a yearto-year basis.

“We’ve been advocating for students for many years,” Graves said. “We plan to expand programs (that) will allow more students to be included.”

New funding structures include allocating a portion of the budget toward expanding scholarship opportunities for students.

“The Board of Directors had discussed initial funding priorities, and one of those is to provide scholarships to CSSA’s officers as well as recognize students working on issues

such as sustainability,” CSSA Executive Director Miles Nevin said.

However, the details are not finalized.

Starting Fall 2015, students will have the choice to pay the $4 fee when registering for classes. While paying for tuition online, there will be an opt-out option for those who do not wish to fund CSSA. “Our main plan is to implement a communication strategy that we’ve been working on this past year,” Nevin said. “We created a media tool kit, which includes a campus press release.”

The communications toolkit will be implemented tentatively by late March before fall registration. Supporting universities will include CSSA information along with a highlighted web link with the student registration process.

To further inform students of SIRF, CSSA plans to communicate with students through word of mouth, social media, websites, campaigns and open forums. CSSA will also work closely with ASI to relay information regarding SIRF’s importance throughout each individual CSU campus to gain student support.

Financial information pertaining to what SIRF will go toward is available online at www.csustudents.org.

“We will continue to have our budgeting process governed by student leaders,” Nevin said.

“Our student leaders determine what the priorities are.”

JOI SULLIVAN | COURTESY PHOTO SIRF-BOART

| Students may opt out of the $4 tuition fee if they choose not to support the CSSA.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

ARTS | 4 PROJECTS continued from pg 1.

3 JASON HUNG | MUSTANG NE WS

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2 GEORGIE DE MATTOS | MUSTANG NEWS

1. The Erhart Agriculture Building bridge

This 48-foot pedestrian bridge connecting the second floor of Erhart Agriculture (building 10) was four students’ senior project, built in 1982.

The students were assisted by architectural engineering alumni Nick Watry, who graduated in 1964. Watry approved the plans drawn up by the students and donated funds for the project. “(Architectural engineering alumnus) Paul Dooley saw the need for connecting the external walk to the second floor of the building, so they drummed up an idea and talked to some professors who suggested they contact me because the bridge is made out of prestressed concrete, of which I am an expert,” Watry said.

Watry provided the connection to industry that the team needed to get the steel, concrete and equipment to build the bridge. It took two years and $20,000 to build.

2. The “Dance” sculptures One dance-inspired sculpture, located in a sitting area between Dexter Lawn and Education (building 2), was built by students in an architecture class taught by Howard Weisenthal in 2003.

The Orchesis director and Weisenthal’s students were designing a dance school for an in-class project. Students’ first step in designing the building was to come up with ways to represent dance in architecture.

“There is a great relationship between architecture and dance: Form, shape, balance, rhythm, order,” Weisenthal said. “So we got along really well.”

Another sculpture from this project, representing the tango, is perched on a wall in front of the Agricultural Sciences building and can be seen on Perimeter Road. Students from the class placed these structures without permission from the campus but the gardeners and maintainers of the campus gradually accepted them, Weisenthal said.

“Students love making stuff, but as an architect they hardly ever have the opportunity to make something full-sized because usually they are building models,” Weisenthal said. “This was a good project for them to realize how materials affect design.”

GEORGIE DE MATTOS | MUSTANG NEWS

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5 GEORGIE DE MATTOS | MUSTANG NEWS

The last sculpture of the series was placed by the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center (PAC). It’s a figure of a man with a square hole in his chest, originally intended for posters of the latest shows coming to the PAC. 3. Library stairwell installation

Assistant architecture professor Clare Olsen designed the installation on the ceiling of the main stairwell of Robert E. Kennedy Library in August 2013.

“I was given the option of many different places in the library and I chose the stairwell because it is a very dramatic space that is very lightfilled and a sort of blank canvas,” Olsen said.

Olsen created many different renditions of the design and the library staff chose the one they thought best represented information in the digital age. Olsen’s students helped fold the powder-coated aluminum to create the volumetric condition that Olsen had designed previously.

“The students were really amazing at getting out the drill and making new holes if we needed to,” Olsen said. “I was really impressed with how smoothly it all went and I couldn’t have done it without the students. It was a really positive experience.”

4. “Spheres” by the PAC

The art installation outside the entrance was donated by Patricia Kohlen, spouse of late architecture professor Ken Kohlen. Cal Poly alumnus Ivan McLean designed and built the piece in Fall 2013 with the architecture of the building in mind.

“I wanted something that would be beautiful, have a large physical presence and compliment the graceful curves of the PAC,” McLean said.

McLean brought several other sculptures from his home in Portland to get a sense of the scale that would be appropriate. He used more than a mile of 3/8-inch rod while building the pieces.

“I feel very honored to be a part of such a beautiful campus that has a special place in my life, appreciative of the generosity of the Kohlen family and proud to be an alumnus,” McLean said.

JASON HUNG | MUSTANG NE WS

5. Solar Decathalon House

This house, located in the parking lot behind Engineering (building 13), was built in 2005 by Cal Poly students participating in the Solar Decathlon. However, the solar powered house was not always there. The house was transported to Washington D.C. to be judged against 17 other universities nationwide. They ultimately took home third place.

Ten years later, Cal Poly has been chosen to participate in the Solar Decathlon again. The current Solar Decathlon Team is currently in the planning and fundraising phase of creating an entirely new house with an undetermined location on campus. They will be finished in October of this year. The team is made up of all different majors.

Both architecture senior Michael Fletcher and electrical engineering senior Casey Smith have been working on the project since spring and have learned about interdisciplinary building.

“Not everyone understands information the same as you,” Smith said. “For instance, I can talk volts and watts just fine with mechanical engineers, but other disciplines might not know enough about the specifics to care. I have to make sure I can figure out a way to get the same information to an architect while being able to relate it to their way of thinking, so that they still hold it with the same importance.”

The new house will have to meet the net-zero energy building criteria and will have to be capable of running all of the appliances and charge an electric car all with solar power. “(This) house is designed to be interactive, ituitive, and integrated. We focused on taking some of the many innovative projects that Cal Poly produces and integrating them into a cohesive design for a visit California home,” Fletcher said. mustangnews.net “In our time of environmental for the entire crisis we want to show people multimedia that living a sustainable lifestyle is very attainable no matter story who you are and it can start with your home.”

Thursday, February 12, 2015

ARTS | 5

The Second City gives first-rate show Brenna Swanston @brenna_swanston

I settled into my terrible media-comp seat in the leftmost gallery of the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center (PAC) on Sunday night, overlooking the audience gathering to watch The Second City’s imminent performance.

The crowd was underwhelming. But they had a great show ahead of them.

The six members of the Chicago-based touring troupe strolled onstage and launched into some heavily rehearsed introductory material. The bit alternated between solo lines and speaking in unison, complete with choreographed movements. The comedians spit out their dialogue so quickly and cleanly it was hard to keep up with who said what.

They introduced their ongoing 55th Anniversary Tour, which encompasses 125 shows at over 100 venues.

One member: “So, why are you here?”

All: “Because you don’t give a shit about the Grammys tonight.”

One member: “Maybe you brought a kid who’s too young to hear the filth that’s about to pour out of our mouths.”

All: “We think that’s awesome.”

They recounted each of their first experiences seeing The Second City and emphasized the uniqueness of the group’s mission as it is and always has been: a live, personal comedy show.

“It’s different because it’s still the same.”

And they highlighted a point that continued to weave through the rest of the night’s performance: “We’re all in this room together, and that doesn’t happen very much anymore.”

The remaining show moved between different forms of live comedy. It kicked off with a

LISA WOSKE | COURTESY PHOTO G U T- B U S T E R S

| The Second City blew in from the Windy City on Sunday night to give the PAC a show it wouldn’t forget.

quick series of short, strong and punchy jokes, each using only one or two comedians. Later, the team transitioned into its first — and weakest — longform sketch of the evening.

The plot surrounded a gay guy picking up his prom date, whose straight, dimwitted brother answers the door. The two wind up waiting in the living room alone together, exchanging awkward dialogue and accidentally stepping into offensive comments.

The audience handed out some pity laughs, but overall the sketch was more genuinely awkward than awkward-funny.

I was disappointed at first, but after a while entertained myself with imagined scenarios

of flinging my pink pen over the balcony toward one of the comedians’ heads.

Ya know. Just a thought.

The show picked up in pace again with an improvisation game, in which the audience yelled out subjects and lines of dialogue — Jamba Juice, telegraph, dysfunction, “let’s make out” — for the comedians to work with.

I’m always blown away by (good) improv comedy — it’s gotta take a lot of brain power to have such quick wit.

Biological sciences senior Dillon Jones, who performs with Smile and Nod and joined The Second City for their encore later Sunday night, said the troupe’s

improv was the strongest part of their performance.

“I was kind of bummed they didn’t do a lot of improv,” Jones said. “They did more sketch, which was fine. They had a lot of good ones.”

And they did. My favorite parts of the show were the longform sketches with meaningful, and sometimes dark, undertones.

One sketch made light of what to do with a friend’s Facebook profile after she dies. Another illustrated a woman going through life’s important phases — prom, marriage, childbirth, etc. — without looking up from her cell phone. Yet another mocked a fictional deceased nun’s dirty record collection.

These sketches were my favorites because the breaks between laughs weren’t filled with impatience for the next joke but rather with thoughtfulness.

The troupe threw in lots of material referencing San Luis Obispo’s sites and characters, including Bubblegum Alley, Madonna Inn and Weird Al. They even poked fun at “the shit-show that is Bull’s Tavern,” Atascadero trailer trash and the GiantsDodgers rivalry.

The Second City’s personalized comedy guaranteed chuckles of surprised recognition, but after a while the trick seemed cheap — they didn’t even have to work for those laughs (and, to be honest, they induced

more pen-flinging thoughts on my end).

At the show’s “end,” the house lights came up and the group said goodnight. I’d been informed that Smile and Nod would join The Second City onstage in that night’s performance, which they hadn’t yet, so I anticipated an encore. The rest of the audience, however, didn’t seem to get the memo — they quickly stood and trickled out the auditorium’s back doors.

I sat until the comedians asked if those remaining in their seats would like to see more material, the house lights were down and the troupe was back onstage.

They prepared for one last improv scene and invited six Cal Poly students — four Smile and Nod members and two Theatre and Dance Department students — for a five-minute jam. Not all the students got a chance to participate, but those who did kept up just fine.

Jones was pulled to the middle of the stage to improvise in a bit about dance.

“It felt like 10 seconds,” he said. “On stage, it’s happening right in front of you, and you have to be alert and listening.

It happens so fast. I think that’s why some people didn’t get out there.”

Prior to the encore, Jones and the other students waited backstage. Jones said it was fun to talk with The Second City members in between their sketches.

“While they were on break from the sketch, they were talking to us,” he said. “Then a guy would just go out, do his sketch, come back and just continue talking to us.”

Though Jones liked some bits more than others, he said he was impressed overall with the quality of the team’s professional comedy.

Annual Loverspeak poetry reading to take place Friday Jen Silva @jesilva345

Love is in the air this week with Valentine’s Day coming up and Byzantium’s annual fundraiser, Loverspeak. The event will take place Friday, Feb. 13, from 6-8 p.m. in Baker Science (building 180), room 101.

Byzantium is an English publication of student poetry and short stories, featuring Cal Poly students, co-editor and English senior Adrienne

King said.

Loverspeak will include a dramatic reading of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” personal works, a reading of “The Raven” and original poetry from Cal poly faculty, King said. English professor James Cushing will emcee the event — probably while wearing a red suit.

“College is kind of a growing experience, so this is a great opportunity to express yourself and to push yourself outside of your normal comfort zone in a pretty safe and embracing

environment,” King said.

Loverspeak encourages entering personal poetry, King said.

She appreciates readings that are more vulnerable, revealing and touching, as well as humorous.

“There will be something for everyone; it’s going to be fun, passionate and serious at times,” King said. “It’s going to a great cause, and I think overall people should come because it’s going to be a great time.”

Admission is $2 for students and $3 for the general public.

Shane Bennett Senior Environmental Management and Protection

“It is something I can do on campus while I eat and it allows me to stay connected with Cal Poly.”

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EDITORS & STAFF

Thursday, February 12, 2015

50 shades of nonsense Liana Riley @Ri__Li

Liana Riley is a political science sophomore and Mustang News columnist. These views don’t necessarily reflect the editorial coverage of Mustang News.

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Thursday, February 12, 2015 Publishing since 1916 ©2015 Mustang News “Trent, I like you...but I feel like you’re a flake.”

Grab your whips and turn on Rihanna’s “S&M,” because this Valentine’s Day we’re doing it the 50 Shades way.

(This is a catch phrase I have coined for the “Fifty Shades of Grey” promotional posters, Universal Pictures is still getting back to me.)

A quick disclaimer: I never actually read the “Fifty Shades of Grey” series in its entirety.

I do, however, have a Ph.D. in poorly written novels, with a concentration in “Twilight.”

One night at a sleepover my senior year of high school, I happened upon my friend Jenny’s copy of the first book

by E.L. James. Despite Kurt Vonnegut’s voice in the back of my head berating me, I began to flip through the pages.

I paused when I found a chapter far enough along where I knew the BDSM everyone was jabbering on about had begun. Curious, 17-year-old Liana wanted to know if the buzz was justified. I scanned the wisely chosen sans serif font and proceeded to read the worst-written sentence in the history of literature.

“He’s my very own Christian Grey-flavored popsicle.”

My mind went blank. Nothing on earth justified the existence of this sentence.

It was sensationalized trash, and unsurprisingly so. It had originated as Twilight fan fiction and happened to captivate the masses in a similar vein as its predecessor. So what was the next step on

my experimental journey?

Keep indulging in nonsense, of course. I devoured the next couple of pages, the same way that Anastasia Steele is ravaged by Christian Grey in just about every other sentence.

Shock! Delirium! Ecstasy!

These are just a few of the raw emotions I experienced while dabbling in the 50 shades.

With every high came a low.

Ana would finally please Christian, but alas, he had a troubled childhood and was an emotionally unavailable psychopath. Obviously, I adored him, abusive tendencies and all.

I finally finished two chapters and felt as if I were in a state of delirium. “Fifty Shades” was a vacuum, and I, a speck of dust sucked into the unknown. I had no more clarity as to the appeal of the novel than I had prior to this episode. Somehow, it had captivated me for an unprecedented period of time. It was a world of outlandish sexual norms that contained one of the most woefully developed protagonists ever, yet I had reveled in it. I was Anastasia and “Fifty Shades” was Christian seducing me into the turbulent world of sadism and masochism.

Ultimately, sex alone sells this hollow attempt at an erotic novel. Its popularity spawns from laughing at the millions of copies the novel has sold, not in any actual entertainment value.

What it is lacking, I realized, is relatability. I have since pondered my own circumstances and failed to make any reasonable connections to this narrative.

I am a wide-eyed 19-year-old; I am chaste and pure. Where is my Christian Grey? I mean, aren’t we all just waiting for our very own red rooms of pain?

We all remember the days of

Pop and circumstance the Twilight Saga and how our seventh-grade selves felt enlivened by a tale of brooding vampires and codependent relationships. It was a breakout hit with no justifiable literary quality, yet was packaged

and distributed the right way, just for our generation. “Fifty Shades” is no different.

The movie adaptation is coming out this weekend, and I have no doubt people will be lining up around the corner to

catch a glimpse of some softcore porn.

And regardless of my qualms, you can catch me and my roommates, edible underwear in tow, heading over to Fremont theatre opening weekend.

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WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN THE BEST FOR CAL POLY EDITION OF MUSTANG NEWS ON THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2015

Thursday, February 12, 2015

SPORTS | 10

Youthful roster not a concern for retooled Cal Poly softball team

MUSTANG NE WS FILE PHOTO FRESH FACES | The Cal Poly softball team lost seven seniors to graduation last year. The Mustangs enter the 2015 season with eight freshmen, five sophomore, two juniors and only one senior on the squad.

Harry Chang @HarryChangMN

When the Cal Poly softball team shut out UC Riverside 3-0 last May, it capped off a 33-19 overall record on the year and a 14-7 posting in Big West Conference play. Both were the Mustangs’ best finish in five years.

But when the Senior Day victory was sealed, the spring afternoon also signified one of Cal Poly’s biggest losses in recent memory.

Seven seniors walked off Bob Janssen field that day, the last time they would do so in their college careers, and head coach Jenny Condon could only look back on an era that saw the kind of continuity and experience every coach dreams of.

Now, at the start of a new season, it’s not a five-year best 33-19 squad that Condon will lead. A different set of exceptional numbers define the Mustangs: eight freshmen, five sophomores, two juniors and one senior.

“Young,” Condon says. “The youngest team I’ve ever coached.”

Condon, who is entering her 11th season as Cal Poly’s head coach, will field an underclassmen-rich roster that returns just four starters and adds six new freshmen position players.

“It’s a class that I think really has the potential to add to a balanced team,” Condon says. “Chelsea (Conivassar) and Amanda (Sandoval), for example, are two players that really can shine and help us get better on both the offensive and defensive side of the game.”

Accompanying the new-look defense are Dayna Master and Alejandra Garcia, infielders who can also fill in as catchers, as well as true catcher Susanne Morris and outfielder Alina Goodrum.

On the mound, the Mustangs welcome two freshmen — Lindsey Chalmers and Stephanie Heyward — who will add to their three-person, all-underclassmen rotation. Despite the youth, pitching is an area Condon thinks will prove to be this

team’s strength.

“We really are adding two strong pitchers in Lindsey and Steph,” Condon says, “They’ll be players who give us a chance to win a game every time they take the mound.”

Part of the reason for that optimism is the proven right-handed arm of sophomore pitcher Sierra Hyland, which Mustangs’ newcomers Chalmers and Heyward will have to learn under.

As the Mustangs’ lone senior, outfielder Emily Ceccacci knows the best way to grow as a college player is to do just that — learn from the best.

“It’s huge (to have Hyland),” Ceccacci said. “Especially with such a young team being able to have that thought as a returner.

She hasn’t skipped a beat. I mean, she’s came back just as strong as she left off last year. She’s a good role model for our two freshmen pitchers.”

Hyland’s 26 victories last year ranked as the highest national total by a freshman. This year, Hy-

land has already picked up right where she left off. She recorded three strong outings last weekend in the team’s first action at the Arizona State Kajikawa Classic and led the team to its first three wins. The performance was good enough to garner Hyland the season’s first Big West Pitcher of the Week award.

“I think with that leadership,” Condon added, “the freshmen will be able to step up right behind her and continue working as a staff to help us win some ball games.”

The five games the Mustangs played at the Kajikawa Classic were Condon’s first chance to see the revamped team play at game speed. While there were some opening-day butterflies in the building, three wins and five games of experience for the eight freshmen have the Mustangs rolling early.

“We did see some nerves in our first weekend, but that’s always something you deal with playing in your first-ever college game,”

Condon said after the tournament. “Overall, I really liked what I saw. Everyone seemed to shake off the jitters and a weekend like that gives us the chance to go back to the drawing board and see where we stand.”

Wet behind the ears? Maybe.

But scared? Not in the least.

Following a season where the Mustangs missed winning the Big West by just one game, the team has been hungry to get back on the field. And youth, Condon feels, can prove to be an advantage in a year where the Mustangs are anything but under the radar.

“Everyone by now knows us in our conference, and the nation knows our conference,” Condon said. “But our freshmen and sophomores are not intimidated. There are a lot of positive attributes I already see — they’re hungry, but at the same time they know they’re playing the same game they’ve always known, and that’s something we try and preach.”

From a teammate standpoint,

Ceccacci says the same thing.

Before Cal Poly’s first series last week, the senior leader stressed that nothing truly changes in college ball other than the competition. Same inning count, same three outs per inning, same game they’ve all played their whole life prior to taking the NCAA stage.

“I have a lot of help from the sophomores to get them pumped up and get them going,” she says.

“But honestly, they have the passion to play so it really doesn’t take much.”

So while you may have to check the program a bit more than last year when the Mustangs take the field for their first homestand, the Mustang Classic — which will be held March 5-8 — don’t expect to have to check their enthusiasm nor their ability.

“We may be young, but this team has the passion and motivation to win and make it to postseason,” Ceccacci continued.

“With the talent that’s come in this year, we definitely will be a team to watch.”