Aug. 22, 2012

BERKELEY - Though the California women's soccer team has been back in Berkeley for weeks, training for the 2012 season, summer officially ends Thursday with the first day of classes on campus. CalBears.com chatted with the California women's soccer team to see how the Golden Bears spent their summer.

Lauren Battung -
I spent the majority of my summer staying in Berkeley, working and doing soccer camps, as well as working on a few independent projects. I coached a lot of soccer. The highlights of my summer, though, were the little moments of spontaneity in between, spent with good company and friends: random midnight drives, trips to the beach, lake-side picnics, good conversations, and especially the infinite amounts of good food and home-made dinners.

Celeste Boureille -
I competed one last time in the ECNL National Championship in Chicago with my Mustang team. I also spent time in Lake Tahoe with friends and family. Jenna Brennan -
I spent my summer hanging out with friends, boating, training and getting in some quality time with my family. The highlight of my summer was getting to see everyone on my old club team from Colorado and getting to play with them again in Arizona.

Taylor Comeau -
I got to spend my summer at home with my family. Some highlights of my summer were just eating dinner outside with my family.

Genessee Daughetee -
I spent my summer skateboarding down the coasts of Southern California, lounging around at the beach and playing indoor soccer.

Mekenna DeBack -
I went to Seattle to visit my one of my best friends and spent a week checking everything out, including the Chihuly Garden, touring Seattle on a Duck Boat and boating the waters of Lake Washington. I explored San Francisco, spent time with my family and best friends, and I coached three Cal soccer camps. One highlight over the summer was when I went to a small beach next to the Golden Gate Bridge to have a picnic and look at the gorgeous view of the bridge and the bay with my best friend.

Kelsie Dickerson -
For the most part I was here in Berkeley taking my class, but I also went to Bradenton, Florida to spend a few days with my brother and watch him play baseball for his minor league team. Afterwards I went to Disneyworld with my parents, which was a lot of fun!

Kaitlin Dickmann -
During this last summer I backpacked around Thailand for three weeks with two of my best friends from high school. Then, I drove down with my family to our favorite place in Baja for a week where we rode whale sharks and fished daily.

Elliott Gentile -
I went to Regionals in Arizona for a week. I saw Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw and Jake Owen in concert!

Amanda Glass -
One highlight was attending Matt Cain's perfect game (GO GIANTS!) and then meeting him a couple weeks later in the Las Vegas airport. I talked to him for a few minutes, told him I was at his perfect game, and then got a picture with him. It was definitely a day I will remember forever!

Karly Graf -
I spent a couple weeks in Europe, and I spent time with my family at home.

Betsy Hassett -
I had the best experience of my life playing at the London Olympics for New Zealand. Highlights were playing against Brazil at the Millennium Stadium and against the USA in the quarterfinals.

Lauren Hein -
I spent most of my summer with my family. We travelled to the Arctic, visited family in Denmark and now I'm helping with my sister's wedding for I'm trying to be a good maid of honor.

Lorin Hom -
I went to Singapore and Bali with my family. The food, beaches and shopping were great. I would love to go back sometime

Emily Kruger -
Summer 2012 was one of the best summers I've had. It began with two road trips, one to UC Santa Barbara with friends from high school and then another to Washington state for a four-day music festival called Sasquatch. Then I interned at a non-profit in San Francisco called College Spring for a month. Then I studied abroad in Ghana (West Africa) for the month of July. It was a busy but amazing three months!

Kory Lamet -
I spent my summer at home with my friends and family and in Berkeley working camps with my teammates. My favorite part about this summer was that my beautiful niece Dilynn was born!

Emi Lawson -
I spent the second half of the summer taking classes and training. The first half the summer though, I went to Europe with my mom and sister for two weeks. We went to four cities, but my favorite was Madrid.

Grace Leer -
For the most part I was relaxing and training for soccer, but I did get to vacation on my island in Minnesota with my family, which was amazing. I have been going there since I was 4.

Sandra Ley -
I stayed in California this summer, but I got to go camping and hiking in Yosemite with my family. One of the most beautiful and gruesome hikes I've ever been on.

Ariana Martinez -
I spent my summer training in Mexico City, for about two straight months preparing for the U20 World Cup this August in Japan. We traveled to Argentina, South Korea and Japan.

Celeste Martore -
I spent my summer playing club soccer and preparing for preseason training.

Rachel Mercik -
I spent my summer enjoying the time off and hanging with family and friends. I went on an amazing cruise to Mexico with my mom. I also had a great time back at home in El Dorado Hills. This is a big year for our team, so many of us also spent the latter part of summer working out together and getting ready for season.

Ifeoma Onumonu -
Most of my summer consisted of playing soccer and going to the beach. Some of the highlights would be going to Chicago for my last club soccer tournament, or finally coming up to Cal and meeting the rest of the soccer team.

Nina Pederson -
I spend the first half of my summer at home in Denmark with friends and family. The second half I spend on a road trip with my best friend driving from Austin, Texas, to Berkeley with many stops along the way.

Samantha Walker -
I spent my summer working out a lot. But my highlight was going to Lake Tahoe with my family, we went boating every day, and it was a much-needed vacation.

Samantha Witteman -
I spent my summer spending time with friends and family. Some highlights included going to Lake Nacimiento with my friends and family, and also going to the beach constantly. Fourth of July was definitely a highlight because it was so fun, and I love fireworks.