By LAURA BORRELLI
Sports Editor
The Northeast 10 Conference has decided this semester that they canceled repositioned NE10 fall sport competition and championships. However, the NE10 is allowing each institution to determine if they will compete with other schools outside of the NE10 conference. The NE10 Council of Presidents prioritized the health of the student athletes above all else in their unanimous decision.
David Alexander, assistant athletics director for communications, released that athletics is committed to providing competition opportunities to the student athletes. Any competitions held will still follow the NCAA policies and state public health regulations.
Student athletes in both winter and fall sports are hopeful in regards to changes in the regulations to allow them to compete.
Senior Zachery Deakin is on the men’s lacrosse team and faced his own struggles during COVID-19. The team is Deakin’s large family and they each have been affected by the virus. Deakin wrote in an email that his team’s spirits have not been as active as before.
“As a team we have been kept to our own homes and with the taste of a stolen season incur mouths as we look forward to our revenge game against Bentley scheduled for March 20th 2021,” Deakin wrote.
The restrictions that have been set in place have been challenging, Deakin wrote. Ten athletes are allowed to practice with no contact. Deakin wrote that contact is an essential part of training for lacrosse. Despite these challenges, the team is grateful to be practicing.
“Everyone is all in and we cannot wait to get things rolling this up and coming week,” Deakin wrote. Practices started on Feb. 8 and the men are fully expecting a spring season for 2021.
Another senior, Nina Fedullo on the women’s basketball team, is hoping for upcoming games. Their season last semester consisted of having to practice in small pods for the majority of the fall semester and having the NE10 conference cancel their games.
It has been hard for new athletes to feel a sense of community and family because of the limited contact, but this has not stopped the women’s basketball team. Fedullo said that her team is very creative in finding ways for team bonding.
“With trying to stay positive, last semester, my team and I would eat a lot of meals in Camelot or dining hall together as much as possible and always be thankful for this opportunity because a lot of other schools have been put on pause multiple times, while we have been able to continue to practice,” Fedullo wrote in an email. Many universities have not been able to practice as often as most of the Saint Rose athletes or even cancelled practicing all together.
Fedullo is graduating in the spring and wants to be able to play another game again with her team. She wrote that the athletics staff has handled the situation well and the precautions they set in place have allowed them to succeed in their athletic career in the middle of a pandemic.
Eric Romero Gomez is a junior on the men’s swimming and diving team. He is an international student from Spain, and made the decision to stay home the fall semester. Being away from his team and a six hour time difference had been challenging; however, Gomez said that he was hopeful and grateful to be back in Albany this semester.
“This semester I’m looking forward to practicing with my teammates. There are a lot of new members on the team and I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time with them while having fun” Gomez wrote in an email.
Gomez and his teammates have been staying positive and staying connected while social distancing and meeting over Zoom. They also enjoy going to breakfast together at the dining hall after morning practices.
