A Season of Uncertainty

For Jake Funk, it meant a chance to run out of The Shell into Maryland Stadium with a fully-reconstructed knee.

For Erika Pritchard, it meant an opportunity to become the Terps’ all-time leader in volleyball points and kills. 

For Ben and Matt Di Rosa, it meant one final season of the identical twins playing on the same soccer field as they had done for the last 18 years. 

These hopes and dreams were paused on August 11 when the Big Ten Conference announced it was postponing the fall 2020 season due to ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The move came nearly five months to the day from when the conference stated that all winter and spring competitions were being canceled on March 12. 

When the March news hit, many thought that by the fall, things would be getting back to normal and the seasons starting six months later wouldn’t be impacted. But the virus apparently had other plans. The uncertainty, which has been so prevalent since March, continued to twist and turn, like a rollercoaster.

Maryland’s football team was three days into the start of August practices when the disappointing news came that another season was going to be altered for Big Ten student-athletes.

“If you had told me in March that we wouldn’t be playing football in September, I wouldn’t have believed you,” said Funk, who had torn his ACL twice in the last two years and was eyeing a senior season return. “I was heartbroken when they told us we weren’t playing in September. It’s tough because I’ve been out for the last two years with injuries. Especially this year, I’ve put in a lot of time and a lot of effort, particularly during quarantine and it was just hard to have it taken away.”

The football program dealt with a lost in-person spring season while head coach Michael Locksley and the Terps found new ways to build team camaraderie and chemistry via Zoom workouts and meetings. They returned to campus during the summer following strict guidelines and protocols to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Testing took place regularly and after battling through an early pause in workouts due to positive cases, Locksley was set to lead the Terps into their first full week of fall training camp when the news came that the season had been postponed.

“My heart breaks for our players,” Locksley said. “They worked really hard over the last couple of months here, and through no fault of their own, football’s been taken away from them.… For me, I’ve always been a glass-half-full guy that thinks, ‘how do we move it forward?’ We are going to figure it out.”

Having Perspective

For Pritchard, she was a returning team captain looking to rewrite the Maryland volleyball record book this fall while leading an improving Terps team under third-year head coach Adam Hughes. 

“The past six months have been difficult for everyone,” said the outside hitter from Middletown, Md. “We’ve all had personal disappointments and some have had tragic losses. Not being sure if we would be able to compete this fall in a sport I love is another unfortunate, lost opportunity, but understandable in a pandemic. I appreciate the way my teammates, coaches and university leaders have navigated these unprecedented times.”

Pritchard, a USA Volleyball Collegiate National Team member, has a chance to become one of the most decorated Terps. After three standout seasons in College Park, she is within reach of the program record for points scored and kills, which have both been held by Carey Brennan for two decades. 

“For me, it’s important to keep everything in perspective: we are dealing with something that is more important than sports,” Pritchard said. “I’m still hopeful for a season when we can put into action everything we had envisioned and worked hard for while finishing out my senior year strong. I love my team and representing Maryland and hope to cap off my career by achieving personal and team goals on the court.”

The Last Time?

The Di Rosa twins have played soccer on the same team since they were four years old, hitting the pitch with the DC Stoddert Shooting Stars at the Carter Barron Soccer Fields in their native Washington, D.C. There was going to be something special about the fall 2020 season. It would likely be the last time they play organized soccer together. It would be a senior season they would share with grand visions of helping Maryland’s men’s program to its second national championship in three years. As sophomores, they played vital roles on a Terrapin backline that didn’t allow a goal in the NCAA Tournament on the way to the 2018 title. 

“We were definitely devastated to hear that our senior season was postponed this fall,” said Ben who was a member of the 2018 NCAA All-Tournament team. “It was something we’d been looking forward to since the loss to Wake Forest (in the 2019 NCAA Tournament Second Round).”

A pair of Academic All-Big Ten honorees, both Di Rosas are on track to graduate from Maryland in December meaning even if the soccer season is moved to the spring, they might not be around to play together for one last season at Ludwig Field. 

“We were really disappointed that we were not able to play this August,” said Matt, a 2019 Academic All-American. “We love Maryland and have always wanted to finish strong. Right now we are just focusing on training and letting everything fall into place.”

With the fall sports postponements, nearly every one of Maryland’s 500 student-athletes have now had a season cut short, canceled or postponed due to the pandemic. Every one of them will have a story to tell about a lost opportunity, a lost moment. Some will receive an additional year of eligibility and continue their college careers. Some seniors may instead begin their postgraduate life. There are so many uncertainties and questions still to be answered. 

“I think about our seniors, I think about our players from overseas,” said field hockey head coach Missy Meharg. “They love putting on that Maryland uniform and representing the Terps. Could they have done that for the final time? We don’t know. We understand and support the decisions that have been made. We will continue to stay connected to our Terp family and support each other as we all go through this together.” 

Would Kaila Charles or Anthony Cowan Jr. have led their Terps to 2020 NCAA basketball championships last March? Would Jared Bernhardt have become the all-time leading goal scorer in Maryland men’s lacrosse history last May? Would Jake Funk have run for 200 yards in a late-season game at Michigan to clinch bowl eligibility for the Terps this fall? 

The threat to lose memories, records, championships, and indelible moments remains…the ravage of a global pandemic and consequences of a season of uncertainty.