Foreign Student-Athletes Sad Staying Home Makes Sense
Tennis players Cliffe, Weekley hope to see each other on the court
Mike Brohard
At home, there is a bit of shock.
In one day this past week, New Zealand reported 13 cases of COVID-19 – breaking a string of 100 days without a confirmed positive result. In response, the capital, Auckland was put on lockdown through Aug. 26, with surrounding communities putting social distancing rules back in place.
Both Stella Cliffe and Sarah Weekley were looking forward to their time in Fort Collins. For Cliffe, it was a second chance to put a cap on her tennis career at Colorado State -- one of the seniors who took advantage of an extra year of eligibility when spring sports were shut down last March by the NCAA. For Weekley, it was to mark the first step. They couldn’t wait to move to Fort Collins.
For both of the Kiwis, the decision to remain at home was heartbreaking but easy to make considering how the two countries have handled the global pandemic, even easier once fall competition was taken off the board. Honestly, not returning in the fall never entered Cliffe’s mind after departing this past spring, which is why most of her belongings remain in Fort Collins.
“When I left campus in March it didn't even cross my mind that COVID might still be an issue by the time the fall semester started again,” Cliffe said. “I packed up all of my things in my apartment in one day and then left the U.S. with only the stuff I thought I'd need for the next few months. Basically all of my belongings -- bar one suitcase -- is still back in Fort Collins, which is so strange to think about since I don't know when I'll be back.
“I definitely didn't think that COVID would still be affecting our ability to compete this semester back in March, but now that it has, it makes me worry a lot more about the spring.”
There are a lot of college athletes with a host of unanswered questions. Athletics are on pause, but for how long? How much will they be allowed to practice? More importantly, will my season actually take place?
Another teammate, Anastasiia Kotsyuba, will remain in Ukraine for the same reasons. As soon as she arrived back home last March, she purchased a return flight for August. She held on to that ticket – and hope – until the final moment. Ukraine announced a record-number of cases for the country in each of the past two days.
“I was thinking until the end that I would come back to CSU,” she said. “Of course the whole situation with COVID-19 made me and my family feel nervous about traveling to the U.S., but I wanted to go back to CSU to have an opportunity to compete and study in person.
“It was a very difficult decision which I made after long discussions with my family and Coach, but it seems like Ukraine is a safer place to stay now. I’m grateful to Coach for his understanding.”
Coach Jarod Camerota wishes he had answers, and he’s not the only CSU coach who had to have these in-depth discussions. Laura Cilek, the women’s golf coach, has seven foreign players on her roster; CSU men’s golf coach Christian Newton has four.
All they could do was figure out the best course of action for each individual. What made them feel safe. What would put the student-athlete and their families more at ease.
Three of Cilek’s players returned to campus, including sisters Thea and Tomine Bjerkelo, but four (two of them incoming freshmen) will remain at home and take online courses. None of the four men’s golfers will return to campus, with three of them choosing to take online classes.
Camerota helped walk his players through all the knowns and unknowns to aid them in making very personal decisions. In the end, that was staying put for his two imports from New Zealand, where they’ll have more opportunities to play matches. Up until the recent outbreak, life was proceeding as normal in New Zealand, and the two CSU teammates had actually run into each other at a tournament.
In a few weeks, they hope to again. Cliffe said maybe they can even play doubles.
“Sarah, she just wants to be engaged with the university, even though she knows it’s the best decision for her to stay in New Zealand,” Camerota said. “She definitely was looking forward to CSU and wants to be engaged with classes and everything. For Stella, she just wants to play tennis and loves tennis, but she also knows it the best decision to stay in New Zealand. It was hard on her to make that call, but when she and I spoke, it was the right decision. She misses practicing with the team, and she knows that, but she really wants to come in January.”
As fate would have it, Weekley was visiting the Colorado State campus with her mother when the announcement to end the 2020 spring season was made. She loved it, especially since she had never seen snow before. Their plan to head to New York City to extend their trip was obviously taken off the board, and when she returned home, Weekley was more excited than ever for college.
Little did she know the emotion would have to be tempered, if just for a bit longer.
“I had no idea. This is going to go down in the history books, for sure,” she said. “I was ready to come out until the first of August when I changed my mind, because there were no active cases here and it was so much safer than in Colorado or the State’s in general. There was the option to take online courses, so I decided to stay here.
“It’s going to be very different than anyone else who has been a freshman before. Starting my first semester in college like this is a bit annoying.”
It’s going to be very different than anyone else who has been a freshman before. Starting my first semester in college like this is a bit annoying.Sarah Weekley, Tennis Player
While Weekley doesn’t know exactly what she’s missing, Cliffe does. She was going to live with teammates Emma Corwin and Emily Luetschwager this year, and her constant chats with them are a mixed bag emotionally.
“We keep in touch through FaceTime and messaging. I was going to be living with Emma and Emily this year in a house, so they're always showing me how they're decorating the place and sending me pictures hanging out at their fire pit, making me jealous of what I'm missing,” Cliffe said. “It's not the ideal situation not being able to take part in team activities and practices, but I'll be able to be there virtually and hopefully can stay in the loop a much as possible.”
For both, the plan is to return in January for the second semester. Cliffe has elected to not take online classes this semester, holding off until then.
The thing is, that’s the plan. As all of them have found, plans don’t always pan out, especially in a pandemic. In the meantime, they both intend on at least being active in their sport, just not as Rams. While the country has put restrictions back in place, Weekley said she can still practice, and through January, she expects to have ample opportunity to see action in a tournament format.
“There’s definitely more freedom, and even though we’re in lockdown, there are still courts available to play,” she said. “I’m in a bubble with some of my tennis friends, so we still have that. Before the change last week, we could travel within the county and play with anyone.
“Tournaments depend on how the COVID thing goes. There are tournaments lined up. My club, it’s having a bunch of tournaments to make up for the tournaments we’ve missed.”
As much as the three coaches would love to have their complete teams on campus and working with them, these are not normal times. And in the best interest of the student-athletes, this decision really makes sense. Not that it makes it any easier. Normal no longer seems mundane to any of them. Right now, normal would be downright exciting.
“Life is so unpredictable,” Kotsyuba said. “I hope that all the crazy things are gonna settle down and return to normal as soon as possible. I can’t wait to come back to CSU and compete.”