Six Zips Decide to Stay in Akron

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AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron athletics teams are comprised of a diverse group of student-athletes hailing from near and far Akron, a collection of individuals that come together as Zips from 33 states and 25 countries.

When the COVID-19 virus caused activities around campus, the state, country, and the world to come to a halt in mid-March, a difficult decision arose for those Zips who are natives of countries outside of the United States as to whether they should stay in Akron or return home to be with their families.

Among those student-athletes who made the decision to remain in Akron were six Zips, including; women's track and field seniors Lucy Bryan (Bristol, England) and Varvara Lissichkina (Karaganda, Kazakhstan), men's soccer senior Diogo Pacheco (Lisbon, Portugal), women's tennis senior Rita Pedroso (Porto, Portugal), women's tennis junior Miruna Vasilescu (Ulm, Germany), and men's soccer redshirt junior Declan Watters (Dublin, Ireland).

For Bryan, the decision to stay in Akron proved to be a balancing act for her and her family.

"I think the hardest thing at the time was confusion about what would be best for me. Of course, my parents wanted me home, but at the same time we were all aware that to stop the spread of the virus we needed to stop the movement and interaction of people. With this in mind, I decided to stay here because my roommate Haley was staying as well, and I would still be able to do some sort of training. I think I would have been frustrated being at home for so long and out of my usual routine."

Bryan had returned to Akron from the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., which were ultimately cancelled, while her parents, who came to see her final competition as a Zip, were able to return to England before the travel ban went into effect.

Long-term career ambitions were what kept Pedroso in Akron, as she is completing an internship related to her international business major.

"I am working remotely currently, and I did not want to lose the opportunity to finish my internship," said Pedroso. "I also did not want to risk traveling and potentially contaminating my family. Staying in Akron was the safer option, and it has allowed me to focus on school."

The decision was equally challenging for Pacheco, who has been rehabbing from knee surgery in December.

"At first, I thought it would be great to go home, see my family and continue my knee rehab there. Within a few days of almost buying a flight, I talked with my family back home, and they were concerned about the airport situations. It was very hard to make this decision to stay, because I was already getting excited with the idea of seeing my family. Home will always be home, and now, more than ever, it would be the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time together while in quarantine."

For Watters, Akron has become home and the ability to stay around teammates was the best choice for him.

"Akron has become a second home for me over the past three years. That being said, it's obviously quite tough being away from my family, especially during times like this, but I talk to all of them over FaceTime pretty much every other day. I'm very fortunate to have been raised by my amazing mother and father as well as my stepmother, who was actually born and raised in Illinois. Due to how much I love it here in the U.S. and the fact that it would be a dream come true to continue my career here after college I've applied for a green card. I have been in the process of applying for over a year now and my family and I both agreed that it would be best for me to stay here during this time."

The ability to continue to do what she loves, running, while furthering her education kept Lissichkina in Akron.

"I was sure from the beginning that I would stay until semester was over, but then everything started to cancel and close, all my friends left for home, and I was feeling different emotions. Therefore, I was ready to go back home, but my parents said that due to quarantine in Kazakhstan, I wouldn't be able even to run outside. You can imagine what that is like for a runner. I had to accept the situation and take advantage of it. The last 3-4 weeks have been difficult, but I finally found my inner peace and I'm glad that I made the decision to stay here."

A five-time All-America honoree in the pole vault, Bryan remains in Akron living with her roommate, a former member of the Akron women's soccer squad, while Pacheco, is staying with his girlfriend. Lissichkina is living on her own, while Watters is staying with his men's soccer teammate. Pedroso is living with roommates, while Vasilescu is staying with her boyfriend, who will soon be departing for six months of basic training.

"Being in Akron, I'm still close to the few teammates who decided to stay in town," said Pacheco. "I honestly would not have stayed here if it was not for my girlfriend because my teammates who live with me during the year all flew back home, so it would definitely not be fun to stay here on my own."

The adversity of the crisis is not lost on the Akron student-athletes, but they remain optimistic as the Zips' community has continued to Rise Together to help them get through this challenge together.

"It's nice to see the Zips' community coming together as a whole to support one another," explained Bryan. "Specifically seeing all the different sports teams coming together to make TikTok videos for the MAC competition. Also, everyone has supported one another with the news that there would be no spring season for the team, and we have all adjusted to virtual/distant training and learning surprisingly well."

Maintaining a positive attitude has been key for Lissichkina, a second-team All-Mid-American Conference selection this season, who is nearly 6,000 miles from her family in Kazakhstan.

"Quarantine has challenged me, but I now have more answers and less questions. There is always a way, always a solution, you just have to choose the right angle to see it."

The community has also been a constant with support for the Zips during this time.

"I received multiple offers from friends and their families to go and stay with them during this time if I want to, which is really touching, and I can't thank those people enough for those offers," said Bryan.

Reflection and gratitude have been keys for Pedroso and Vasilescu over the past month.

"I have been impressed by all the positivity my friends and family have been giving me during this hard period of time," explained Pedroso. "It made me realize how important they are for me."

"I realize how lucky I am for all the things I have, like family, health, my dog, my boyfriend and my friends," said Vasilescu. "I am so much more grateful now that we are in this situation where we don't know what is going to happen, so we have to enjoy what we have now."

For Pacheco another challenge has been creativity in his continued rehab on his knee after surgery in December.

"Having stayed in Akron with my knee rehab ongoing, creativity and imagination have been very necessary," said Pacheco. "I feel like I have been learning better how to listen to my body and work on the areas I need help with most. With the lack of some equipment for my rehab, I have been in constant communication with our athletic trainer Brett Draper in order to find different methods and ways of rehab."

While finding themselves far away from their loved ones, the Zips thoughts are never far from their minds at any time.

"My parents are both working from home and my siblings are having school via online, which is something very uncommon in Europe, but the adaptation has been positive," explained Pacheco. "My grandparents are healthy and safe at home. My family is approaching this virus situation very seriously, but at the same time are staying positive."

Lissichkina said her family is doing well, while her mother, who is a teacher, has been working from home, as has her father.

Pedroso commented that some of her family members have jobs that expose them more than others, but that everyone is healthy and supporting each other throughout quarantine.

While working to maintain fitness levels for their respective sports, the Zips are also working towards completing the semester in a strong way online in the classroom.

"All of my professors have clearly been working hard to make it as straightforward for us as they can, and they've all been more than happy to help whenever I have reached out," said Watters.

Bryan explained that she finds that having a routine to her day has helped her to be more productive and get her work done. Her teachers have been really understanding of this whole situation and have tried to make the transition as easy for everyone as possible.

Pacheco went on to say that although he is used to having online classes every semester, for him, the learning process has always been better in-person because the approach of students is always different.

Pedroso explained that it is more challenging learning through online content, however now she has more time to devote to each class which has helped her keep up with the learning.

The support network for the student-athletes has remained a welcome constant to help keep the Zips stay on course with their academic and athletic goals.

"I had a birthday several weeks ago, so I was endlessly thankful for my friends who came and spent some time with me despite everything," said Lissichkina. "I was glad to see everyone happy and healthy. My coach Trey (Brokaw) has also been very supportive during this time and has shed some light on the situation, which helped me look at everything from a different perspective."

Watters is appreciative how all of his coaches have been great with keeping in touch during this time, while Pacheco went on to say that the support provided by coaches, academics, and trainers has been incredible during this time.

"They are constantly checking on me in order to know how I'm doing mentally and physically, and during these days that gives me more motivation to stay focused for the next season," said Pacheco.

The support has not been lost on Pedroso, who commented that her coaches, trainers, and academic advisor have been doing a phenomenal job in keeping in contact with her and making her feel safe and supported.

Looking ahead to life outside of quarantine is something which the Zips are anxiously awaiting.

"I am looking forward to leaving my house without any concerns of going outside and interacting with people," said Pacheco. "I think what I miss the most is the daily interaction with teammates and coaches during training and our regular schedule."

"I am most definitely looking forward to being able to go back to a normal routine and being able to practice daily with my teammates," said Bryan. "Training on your own loses its novelty quite quickly, and although I self-motivate well, there are days where it is definitely your teammates that get you through the practice. It would definitely be easier and more enjoyable if I had the girls (Abby, Rachael, Elley, and Sara) there with me. I also cannot wait to be able to compete again."

"I am looking forward to maintaining a positive mindset to be able enjoy my senior year of college once everything goes back to normal," explained Vasilescu.

The decision to stay was not easy for each of the Zips, but it is one that they are glad they made.

"If I would have to decide again on whether or not to stay in Akron, I would still make the same decision of staying here, even though my family is almost 4000 miles away from me," said Pacheco.

With luck and good fortune, the Zips will soon return to campus and begin the road to recovery from COVID-19, both in the classroom and in their respective athletic venues.

ZIPS' EXTRA
What are some of your favorite ways to pass the time while staying in?
Lucy Bryan - I have been training and practicing my handstands, but I also spend time cooking, watching TV shows, doing puzzles, calling family and friends back home, and I have even been doing a painting by numbers, which is taking me forever.

Varvara Lissichkina - I love to cook. So, I'm trying new recipes and baking a lot.

Diogo Pacheco - While staying in, some of my favorite ways to pass the time are working out, watching soccer videos, movies, playing video games and board games.

Rita Pedroso - Netflix is a big companion for me during this quarantine. I also got a piano, so now I spend a lot of time trying to learn it.

Miruna Vasilescu - I love to cook and bake, so I have tried different recipes and baked a lot to pass the time.

Declan Watters - Danny and I have been doing various things to pass the time and keep our spirits high over the past month. We have definitely binged our fair share of TV shows, but we have broken out some board games too, scrabble has been our go-to.

The University of Akron Athletics

Players Mentioned

Lucy Bryan

Varvara Lissichkina

Diogo Pacheco

Rita Pedroso

Miruna Vasilescu

Declan Watters

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