UNLV spring sports athletes cope with loss of seasons

UNLV’s men’s tennis team was off to its best start ever with a 13-1 record. The players thought they were on their way to completing a special season.

Then it all ended when the coronavirus pandemic prompted sports worldwide to begin shutting down, with the Mountain West canceling all spring competitions March 12.

“This is an opportunity to see how precious life can be and how precious sport can be,” said junior tennis player Clayton Alenik, who went to Odyssey Charter School. “The whole world is under this lockdown right now, and you never know when it’s the last time you’ll be able to play. So play like it’s your last.”

Alenik and other UNLV spring athletes are in the same predicament. They are not allowed by the Mountain West to participate in in-person team activities, but still are expected to stay in competitive shape while continuing their education through online classes.

UNLV’s athletic department is using software to help its athletes by providing specific training guidelines as directed by their various coaches. This is the new normal, and no one knows how long it will last.

Extra season for seniors

The NCAA voted Monday to allow all athletes, including seniors, on this year’s spring teams to have an extra season of eligibility, and schools will be given flexibility regarding scholarship limits. Many, if not most, UNLV seniors on spring sports teams plan to return next season.

Schools have the option of using the NCAA’s Student Assistance Fund to make up the extra costs in scholarships.

“Guys are itching, they’re ready to go,” said junior baseball player Jack-Thomas Wold, who went to Basic High School. “They want to see how good we could be if we took all our redshirts and our injured guys and threw them into a roster next year.”

Pitcher Ryan McDonald, who has not played in two years because of an arm injury, is one player who will not be back. He will leave to attend graduate school at Johns Hopkins.

Women’s tennis player Samantha Li, who was 11-4 at the time of the shutdown, plans to return. “I’d love to,” she said.

Spring coaches are having to think about how they might need to accommodate seniors they didn’t expect back.

“We have discussed it with our seniors,” softball coach Kristie Fox said. “They do want to come back. … It’s sensitive because we’ve got to wait. There’s a lot of unknown right now. But I’m happy they do want to be a part of our program moving forward, and it’s tough for them to continue to train.”

Fall sports could be impacted

The next concern for UNLV’s athletic department is the potential impact the shutdown could have on fall sports, including football, which has had its spring practices all but canceled.

Athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois said three contingencies are being considered — if the virus extends into mid-May, if it lasts into June and if it lingers into August when those sports typically practice and then begin their seasons.

“All of our staff is taking this time to strategically evaluate our core functions, our constituencies, how we get better and how we adjust and pivot,” Reed-Francois said. “Because we’re going to be ready.”

What happened to the spring sports — as well as the cancellation of championship events for winter sports, including the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments — has put the emphasis on planning for all possibilities.

The growing threat

When word began to spread of a new illness in Wuhan, China, few athletes realized what kind of effect it would have in the U.S., specifically on their seasons.

Li is from Shenyang in northern China, so she had a handle on what was happening in the central China city of about 11 million.

Shenyang “is not as bad as Wuhan. People are staying home, but the situation is getting better. I think we’re doing the right thing (in the U.S.).”

At the time the virus began to spread, UNLV’s spring sports were turning in strong performances.

The women’s track team won the Mountain West indoor championship. The softball team had won 19 of its past 21 games and was 21-5, tying the second-best start in school history.

“We understand that it’s bigger than sports at this point. It’s bigger than ourselves,” junior softball player Mia Trejo said. “The health and safety of us as student-athletes and our family and friends and everyone else is what’s most important.”

Moving forward

Now all those involved in spring sports are trying to make the best of a situation in which they have no control.

The school work continues. So does the training, though individualized.

They all miss being able to play. There is nothing to fill the void.

“It’s a little bit tougher for the spring sports because we are supposed to be playing,” Fox said. “So when we’re setting up these meetings and we’re setting up our training, a lot of the girls don’t know what they’re training for yet. So we’re being really sensitive to the fact this is a really emotional time.”

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.