'Bows hit the books as often as volleyballs
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i has been on the road for a full week now and played but two matches. What do the Rainbow Wahine do with their time?
Eat, sleep, shop and — mostly — study.
By Friday, assistant coach Kari Anderson will have proctored and/or overseen 23 final exams on this trip. That does not include three tests that have to be taken in person Monday, the day grades are due.
Maja Gustin, a religion major, probably has the worst of it. She has been working on a final paper for her health and medicine in religion class and studying for exams in ethnic studies, adapted physical education and biology.
"It's hard, honestly, sometimes the time is very tight," Gustin said. "On one hand, you have to focus on volleyball. On the other hand, you have to think a lot about where are the gaps that I can study and write papers and find a computer. It's a lot of thinking and organizing and focusing and discipline."
Melody Eckmier, who is majoring in geology, is taking three tests in the sciences. Most of the Rainbows have at least two finals on this trip. For Karin Lundqvist, the tests are in botany and physics.
Junior Lily Kahumoku is the only player who escaped, taking all her tests before she left. Despite taking last year's fall semester off, Kahumoku expects to graduate next year.
Anderson gave five tests yesterday and expects to give five more today, not including the one she's proctoring for student manager Ryan Tsuji. Each exam takes up to two hours.
It hasn't all been books and volleyball. The team went to Preservation Hall last night to listen to jazz, turning down an opportunity to see Cincinnati and North Texas play in the second New Orleans Bowl.
• In her own world: Maja Gustin, a junior from Slovenia, feels as if she's been on a trip around the world in the last week.
Gustin found Lincoln, Neb., much too cold and flat for her taste. Or, as she put it, "I couldn't find myself there."
"A couple times I was thinking, 'Thank God I'm in Hawai'i,' " Gustin recalled. "I really, really appreciated Hawai'i, even more than usually."
In contrast, it took her less than 24 hours to fall in love with New Orleans, which is experiencing beautiful 70-degree days. She and Lily Kahumoku rode through one of the Big Easy's most elaborate neighborhoods Monday.
"Sometimes I was feeling like I was in Europe — France or something," Gustin said. "I called my friend and said 'I feel like I'm at home over here.' And it's not as cold as Lincoln."
Yesterday, Gustin found herself on another continent as the team drove to practice in a high school gym.
"I just thought it was like Africa," Gustin said. "Not because there are a lot of African-Americans here but the style of the gardens and houses. It looked like what I remember of Africa when I was there in the summer.
"There is a little French here, a little of Africa, a little America. It's a unique place. I love it."
QUICK SETS: Stanford won its fifth NCAA title last year. It is the only team to defend a championship in the last 11 years, winning in 1996 and '97. ... Hawai'i and Stanford have played four times in the postseason. The only time the Cardinal won was the last time, in the 1996 championship. UH also leads the all-time series, 15-9. ... Stanford has met USC nine times in the postseason, and won every match. ... The Cardinal have played the other three final-four participants this year. They split five-game matches with USC, swept UH and were swept by Florida. Logan Tom was helping the U.S. to a silver medal at the World Championships when Stanford fell to the Gators. ... Stanford has been to 14 of the 22 NCAA final fours. ... Next year's final four will be at Reunion Arena in Dallas. ... Louisiana will celebrate the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase next year. That land deal in 1803 nearly doubled the size of the United States, at a cost of about four cents an acre.
