Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 12 No. 5 | May 2020

inside.hokiesports.com 19 300 Technology Drive Christiansburg, Virginia 24073 www.inorganicventures.com European distribution center located in Santander, Spain Two of our PhDs as well as eleven key members of our service, production, and business teams hold degrees from Virginia Tech. When you’ve got the right talent in place, there’s no limit to how far you can go. Makers of the world’s most accurate Certified Reference Materials Proud to support the Hokies’ teams. Because the Hokies are such a big part of ours. 300 Technology Drive Christiansburg, Virginia 24073 www.inorganicventures.com European distribution center located in Santander, Spain Two of our PhDs as well as eleven key members of our service, production, and business teams hold degrees from Virginia Tech. When you’ve got the right talent in place, there’s no limit to how far you can go. Makers of the world’s most accurate Certified Reference Materials Proud to support the okies’ te s. Because the Hokies are such a big part of ours. 300 Technology Drive Christ ansburg, Virginia 24073 www.inorganicventures.com European distribution center located in Santander, Spain Two of our PhDs as well as eleven key members of our service, production, and business teams hold degrees from Virginia Tech. When you’ve got the right talent in place, there’s no limit to how far you can go. Makers of the wo ld’s most accurate Certified Reference Materials Proud to support the Hokies’ teams. Because the Hokies are such a big part of ours. 300 Technology Drive Christiansburg, Virginia 24073 www.inorganicventures.com Europ an distribution center located in Santander, Spain Two of our PhDs as well as eleven key members of our service, production, and busin ss teams hold degrees from Virginia Tech. When you’ve got the right talent in place, there’s no limit to how far you can go. Mak rs of the wo ld’s most accurate Certified Reference Materials Proud to support the Hokies’ teams. Because the Hokies are such a big part of ours. 300 Technology Drive Christ ansburg, Virginia 24073 www.inorganicventures.com Europ an distribution center located in Santander, Spain Two of our PhDs as well as eleven key members of our service, production, and business teams hold degrees from Virginia Tech. When you’ve got the right talent in place, there’s no limit to ho far you can go. Makers of the wo ld’s most accurate Certified Reference Materials Proud to support the H i ’ tea . Bec use the Hokies are such a big p rt of o rs. w nor l y u’ve got the right talent in w . so busy [during a normal school year], that I was like, ‘OK, I have to get this done now.’ But with everything online, I’m like, ‘Ah, I can do it later.’ “Also, I definitely like seeing all the people in my classroom and the people from my major. I had a bunch of friends from my major. A lot of them are going to work, so who knows if I’ll get to see them again. So I’m not a big fan, but it works pretty well. They’re very efficient with it.” Socializing represents one of many sacrifices being made by students because of the pandemic. For student-athletes, there are other sacrifices. On the athletics front, Donato stood at 5-3 in singles matches at the time of the ACC’s decision to discontinue all sports activities, and his five victories ranked second on the team. The Hokies were at 5-6 overall as a team at the time of the season’s cancellation, but Donato felt optimistic about a team turnaround heading into the final three matches of a four-match homestand. Tech was set to take on Louisville at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center on March 13 when the players received the news. “We were practicing on a Thursday, and on a Friday, we were playing Louisville,” Donato said. “During the practice, the coach came out and told us we could stop because we weren’t going to play. Everything had got suspended. It was pretty brutal. Then he said it was suspended through April 3, and then after a few days, it was pretty much over.” Talamazzi, though, probably sacrificed the most. Her family had never been to the United States and had planned on making the trip for the first time for her graduation. Then, the university canceled the traditional commencement ceremony because of the pandemic and insteadwent to an online format. The pandemic forced the Talamazzi family to cancel all of its plans. “I was expecting it when everything happened, but if I have to be honest, when I received that email from Virginia Tech, I was pretty much upset,” she said. “You work so hard and you’re pretty much looking forward to that day. Not so much myself, but more for my family. They could have come and watched me walk across the stage … I would have loved for them to be here, but at the same time, I’m lucky enough to have that extra year of graduate school. I’ll be graduating again next May, so hopefully they’ll be able to come next year.” And hopefully she’ll get to see her newborn niece soon. She just has no ideawhen. Like a lot of people on university campuses nationwide, Talamazzi plays the waiting game–and it’s unfortunately one that she really doesn’t want to play. Carlo Donato IHS extra