The Baraboo trio and their teammates were left scrambling when the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference announced last Friday that all spring sports would be canceled in an effort to limit the coronavirus outbreak.
“It was a tough day,” said Hinz, noting he had a hunch the season would be impacted when he saw how the coronavirus was canceling events around the world. “I didn’t think we’d completely shut down, but I knew we wouldn’t be playing the first tournament.
“We have a group text going, and from a team perspective, it was really hard to swallow. This is one of the stronger teams that Edgewood’s ever had I would say. We’ve come in second place for conference since my freshman year, and I think the year before that we were second as well. So it was kind of this group goal and team effort, we wanted to win conference and make it a good season with the team we had. So to hear that we wouldn’t get that chance, everyone was pretty shaken at first.”
Some of the Eagles may get another shot at it, as the NCAA is looking into preserving eligibility for all spring athletes. Therefore, Hinz and senior teammates Jackson Eversoll and Jensen Peck could have the opportunity to return as seniors next season if they choose to.
“The way it looks, it’s probably going to be it for the seniors, just because we’re all kind of advancing in our professional careers and it’s kind of more of a burden to go back for that last semester than it would be to get out there and enter the real world,” Hinz said. “Unfortunately, I don’t know if any of our seniors are going to be able to take advantage, but it’s definitely something that I’m interested in if I end up in Madison for more education.”
