‘How I Spent My Spring’

With the abrupt halt to all spring sports in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, Gold Rush put together Q&As with student-athletes from each sport to find out how they spent their most unusual spring.

Baseball

Name: Chris Lanzilli
Class: Junior
Major: Communication
Hometown: Stoneham, Mass.

How did your coach and teammates react?
"We all were disappointed but knew we had no option. We handled it the best that we could."

What have you done in the meantime this spring?
"I have a place to work out in an empty gym. I also hit with my friend on the field outside."

How does this motivate you going forward?
"It motivates me because a lot was taken away from us, but I want to come back from quarantine with more skills than before."

What's next for you?
"I will pursue my baseball career."

Men's Golf

Name: Parker Gillam
Class: Junior
Major: Communication
Hometown: Cary, N.C.

What did you think when you heard your season was over?
"I was extremely disappointed because I was looking forward to the remainder of the spring season and to the ACC and NCAA tournaments."

How did your coach and teammates react?
"I think everyone was caught off guard. None of us expected this. It was very hard for us to accept."

What have you done in the meantime this spring?
"I have mainly focused on my online classes, staying in shape and continuing to improve my golf game."

How does this motivate you going forward?
"I will not take things for granted. I will stay in the moment and appreciate getting back to tournament play. As a team, we will definitely be motivated to earn our spot at the top of the rankings next season."

Women's Golf

Name: Swing Liu
Class: Senior
Major: Finance
Hometown: Shanghai, China

What did you think when you heard your season was over?
"I was too shocked to react to the news at the moment, but once the news sat in it was more grief than anything. Then I tried to plan out what I can do after graduation since the situation is entirely novel to everyone. "

How did your coach and teammates react?
"We were all disappointed to say the least since we were ranked No. 1 in the country and on track to winning the national championship. The team was super sweet and threw a graduation party for me in Arizona, and it was a very emotional night."

What have you done in the meantime this spring?
"Mainly just studying and reading. The online format certainly is interesting to navigate, but because of the new schedule, I also have the time to spend more time on reading books just for fun."

How does this motivate you going forward?
Well, I am one of those who will return next year. I will be attending grad school here studying Business Analytics, so I am extremely pumped to have a chance to go for another national championship."

Men's Tennis

Name: Eduardo Nava
Class: Redshirt senior
Major: Communication
Hometown: Woodland Hills, Calif.

What did you think when you heard your season was over?
"When I heard this, I didn't think it was really going to happen and that there would just be a short break until we got back out there. Once the ultimatum of a canceled season came out, it started to hit me that I might have just played my last matches as a college student-athlete."

How did your coach and teammates react?
"My coaches and teammates were all very shocked to hear the news that the season was canceled. Canceling the season was difficult since we all felt like our best tennis was yet to come."

What have you done in the meantime this spring?
"I obviously have been spending more time at home and still trying to play some tennis at my cousin's backyard tennis court. Getting used to online schooling has also been somewhat of a transition."

How does this motivate you going forward?
"I still had one more year of tennis eligibility and for some time I wasn't sure if I was going to use it. I have made the decision to use the eligibility and try to accomplish something special with my team."

Women's Tennis

Name: Chandler Carter
Class: Senior
Major: Communication
Hometown: Dallas, Texas

What did you think when you heard your season was over?
"I was definitely shocked when I had first heard about our season being over. It didn't set in until probably an hour after, but I was very sad and disappointed. Being a senior, it was one of the weirdest feelings, considering my tennis career was over."

How did your coach and teammates react?
"We were all together when we found out, because we were supposed to leave for a road trip at Boston College that day. I think we were all in disbelief, honestly. We had a team meeting the next morning and were able to say our goodbyes."

What have you done in the meantime this spring?
I came home to Dallas after our season was canceled and have just been working on classes and finishing up the semester. Spending a lot of time with my family … nothing too exciting.

What's next for you?
Being a senior, I did not see this coming at all and was pretty much blindsided by the fact that my season and career was over. I plan on attending SMU in the fall to pursue my Master's of Science in Sport Management.

Men's Track

Name: Zach Facioni
Class: Sophomore
Major: Economics
Hometown: Sydney, Australia

What did you think when you heard your season was over?
"I was definitely upset to hear the news. In saying that, I knew it was for the best and was fortunate enough to still have had a full indoor track season."

How did your coach and teammates react?
"I don't think anybody knew the full extent of how bad things were, so there was a lot of confusion amongst the team. We have a lot of international students who didn't know if they should book flights home or not."

What have you done in the meantime this spring?
"After returning back home to Australia I've been mostly focusing on school and building my training back up. After the cancellation of the season here, we decided to shut down and have a rest."

How does this motivate you going forward?
"Obviously, it's going to be difficult for all of the spring athletes to stay motivated until the next season. Luckily for me, I have cross country to look forward to in the fall, so I'm just trying to channel all my energy into that and make sure I'm as ready as possible."

Women's Track

Name: Hannah Brookover
Class: Senior
Major: Health and Exercise Science
Hometown: Palm Harbor, Fla.

What did you think when you heard your season was over?
"I was thinking about indoor nationals and the distance medley relay team we had there. They had an incredible season and coming off of a win at ACC's gave them a lot of momentum for nationals."

How did your coach and teammates react?
"We kept hearing different things but didn't know if it was true or not. This is uncharted territory, so I know our coaches didn't have all of the answers either at the time. When it finally sunk in, we were in disbelief. Our coaches have been very supportive throughout the past couple of months."

What have you done in the meantime this spring?
"Sticking to the same routine has been crucial for me. I still train at the same time and keep my training schedule the same as if we were at school. I am lucky to have nice weather in Florida."

What's next for you?
"I have both indoor and outdoor eligibility left, and I will start my Biomedical Master's program at the end of May. I am grateful for the opportunity to compete and continue my education."

Wake Forest Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Hannah Brookover

Chandler Carter

Zach Facioni

Parker Gillam

Chris Lanzilli

Eduardo Nava

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