A University of La Verne men’s water polo player has tested positive for COVID-19, therefore the Leopards will not participate in this weekend’s Gary Troyer Tournament.
The tournament will still be held at the La Verne Aquatic Center, where La Verne was scheduled to cohost the event, but the Leopards will be absent as the team and coaching staff are in quarantine.
The Leopards’ game on Wednesday against Whittier was also cancelled due to the reports of the positive test. An automatic forfeit was given to the Leopards, putting their record at 0-5 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.
According to sophomore center Peter Trinh, his teammate tested positive on Wednesday after telling the team he was not feeling good.
“The guys and I didn’t think anything of it, but once we heard, we were shocked,” Trinh said.
Trinh said that this was not the best timing for the team as recruits were scheduled to attend this weekend’s tournament.
Vaccinated players and coaches are in quarantine for 3-5 days. After that they will be instructed to take a COVID test. If positive, they will remain in quarantine for 10 more days. If negative, they can return to normal play. However, non-vaccinated players and coaches automatically have to be quarantined for 10 days.
Trinh also mentioned that a few players on the team are not vaccinated, which will leave the Leopards short handed for their next scheduled game against Redlands on Wednesday.
According to senior attacker Guillermo Ocasio, the team is just trying to stay positive in this tough situation.
“We didn’t want this to happen obviously because we had a good chance of winning all of our games this weekend,” Ocasio said.
– Sarah Van Buskirk
Sarah Van Buskirk is a senior journalism major with a concentration in print and online journalism. She is the Spring 2024 editorial director for the Campus Times and has recently served as editor-in-chief, sports editor and staff writer. She is also currently a staff photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine, and a staff writer for La Verne Magazine.