Watching the Situation Unfold Didn't Remove the Sting
Rams were in California when coronavirus really started to take hold
Mike Brohard
Watching it all unfold didn’t make the final decision feel any less sudden. Nor did it remove the sting.
During the final few weeks of the season the Colorado State women’s tennis season, the Rams were on the road. The last trip took them to California, one of the first places to really feel the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
Airports smelled of bleach and were emptier. There was no battle for a seat on the plane, and the whispers on the court could not be ignored. At their final two duals, CSU coach Jarod Camerota discussed with both opposing coaches if it would be better to do away with the regular formality of shaking hands before and after a match.
A few months later of isolation, junior Priscilla Palermo hasn’t come to terms with accepting the reality.
“Honestly, I still feel like I haven’t. It still feels surreal to me, because it did happen so fast, and I think being in season and traveling everywhere every weekend, we kind of actually got to see it unfold more than most people,” she said. “We were hearing about it more, and airports were kind of the first to start sanitizing everything and flights started to become less saturated with people.
“By the time we were in California, we kind of knew something was coming. We were hearing about online school at the California schools. I guess I still haven’t totally fathomed the fact that our season just got cut short. It’s been a huge shell shock.”
Camerota knew the emotions would flood his team, with half of the eight-member roster consisting of seniors. The goodbye was harsh and sudden, with proper sendoffs not in the cards. He has a few players overseas and some still in town, but keeping in touch with them and helping them sort through the emotional suitcase remains the primary topic.
What hasn’t surprised him is their ability to be disappointed and understand what is happening is not just to them, but everybody across the globe.
“We’ve had weekly Zoom meetings, and (assistant coach) Scott Langs and I have kept in individual touch with the members of the team,” Camerota said. “I think it wasn’t easy for the season to end, but we talked to them before any of the pandemic happened – hey, tennis is great and we all love it and we have a passion for it, which is awesome, but there are way bigger things in the world out there than tennis. That’s always been part of our message, that it’s awesome to play and we all love it, but keep it in perspective. It’s interesting when this happens.
“I think everyone has handled it as well as they could. I think our team is pretty self-motivated, and that’s why I recruited them in the first place. I didn’t want players who were forced to play tennis, I wanted players who love to play tennis. I know without asking them they’re doing the best they can and fitting it all in.”
By the time we were in California, we kind of knew something was coming. We were hearing about online school at the California schools. I guess I still haven’t totally fathomed the fact that our season just got cut short. It’s been a huge shell shock.Priscilla Palermo, Women's Tennis Player
Palermo finished her school year out remotely in Fort Collins, as did teammates Emily Luetschwager and Emma Corwin. To remain in shape, they took hikes together, and even found a court without a net to continue to hit. One day, the net reappeared, a small joy in in a world where those can alter a mood.
The ability to continue to hit has been nice, but even after a few weeks, the muscle memory had to take a refresher course. The old stroke needed some work, but it was comforting to know they weren’t the only players in the same position.
What they really wished was it was a Mountain West foe across the net, as was scheduled. When life’s plan wasn’t altered by an unknown.
“It’s tough. Conference is the most fun,” Palermo said. “You have that feeling, was all that preseason stuff all for nothing; that thought definitely pops into your head. But there’s always next year. That’s all you can think about. Nobody could have seen this coming or controlled it. It is hard to get back into the groove of things, so it will take a whole other preseason. Hopefully we’ll be able to play our fall season.”
Another good question for another day, as everybody has found there are some things out of their control. School was not one of them.
Camerota’s team takes pride in their academic standing, establishing a lofty team GPA target, one they barely missed in the fall term. That signaled for them a strong rally, and while they can’t compete on the court any more, the Rams at least found a challenge they could take on in the meantime.
“Academics wasn’t a concern at all,” Camerota said. “One of our goals is to have a team GPA of 3.50, and we were a bit under that in the fall and we hope we can achieve that in the spring. We’ve talked about that in our Zoom calls, and it’s something they’re taking pride in. We have Emily doing GPA calculations, the stats major. She’s wondering if pass/fail is better for the GPA than grades, so she has all of those calculations happening. It’s pretty funny.”
And a good laugh these days is always welcome.