By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
SMATEVZ, Slovenia – Just under a month ago, former Tennessee Tech midfielder Tina Marolt was playing with Orobica Bergamo in the Serie A Italian League, coming off of a tough 3-0 loss to Florentia San Gimignano.
The same day, there were 79 cases of COVID-19 in Italy, with two deaths. Two days later, when the players began to leave, there were 229, six dead. Today -- 28 days later – there are 59,138 cases, 5,476 victims.
"Seeing the pictures, it's awful," Marolt said. "It hurts as much as seeing what happened (in Middle Tennessee, including Cookeville and Putnam County) with the tornado. It's so tough seeing that happen in an area you've competed in or gone to school at.
"When you take a look at the situation now, I think we should have done more earlier. I was right there, right in the center. There's more people dead there then there was in China."
Bergamo, located in the hard-hit Lombardy region of Northern Italy, is 25 miles northeast of Milan.
Marolt was fortunate as she was able to get out of Italy before the country closed its borders, including to her native land of Slovenia. However, seeing its effects on the nations nearest to her and her former collegiate home is heartbreaking.
"Since (Friday in her country), you cannot go out in groups or even twos anymore," she said. "Not even for walks, or runs or even to the grocery. I work with plants in a nursery at home and people walk in with masks and gloves, so they are aware and prepared."
The team also went through what many leagues, colleges and universities and even schools have gone to, canceling seasons and waiting for things to return to a point they can return to the field again.
"First, they canceled all group practices," Marolt said. "Then they told us to stay home and work out in parks and in our apartments. We were told to only go to the store as needed, so we were essentially quarantined."
Marolt, a three-year member of the Golden Eagle soccer team recently wrapped up her Tech career in the 2019 campaign, earning All-Ohio Valley Conference first-team honors as she had six assists, the third-most in league play. She finished her career sixth in assists with 11. The Louisville transfer earned a spot on the All-OVC Newcomer team in 2017.
The situation has created a new normal for Marolt. Her typical day?
"I work out once, sometimes twice, a day to stay in shape," she said. "I still don't know what's going to happen with our league, so just trying to stay prepared. I also help with gardening at home to stay in shape, so just keeping myself busy and trying to be aware of what's going on."
The biggest change is one that isn't surprising as many are getting used to the concept of social distancing.
"Probably practicing and training on my own has been the biggest change," Marolt said. "I'm lucky I live closer to nature, but people who live in the cities are truly struggling because they have nowhere to train. The biggest thing I've had to learn was to wash my hands more often and be more mindful of what that includes – touching my face, handshakes and disinfecting surfaces."
The attitudes seen here over the last couple weeks aren't different at all from what she has seen.
"You have two extremes – scared people buying items in bulk and the ones still out there like nothing is wrong," she said. "I think it's really critical that people stay home now. It's the only way to curb this."
But as the situation starts to take hold, things also seem to be calming down and becoming more orderly to a degree.
"At first everyone was rushing and buying in bulk. Now the country has mandated the stores have to be open from 8-10 only for elderly, pregnant women, disable and people in need, so they get more time. I went to the store yesterday. At the entrance, there was someone disinfecting the cart and my hands before I walked in. Sometimes you even have to wait out front."
There also seems to be unexpected positives coming out of the situation.
"I've gotten to spend a lot of quality time together with the family," Marolt said. "It's different for me, because we work together at the family nursery. Otherwise, we do puzzles, watch movies, go cycling or hiking – when we were still allowed to – or just cook together. It's different and nice."
She also noted the images of the Venetian canals as the water is cleaner than it has been in decades.
"At least there's something good in all this craziness," Marolt said.
As there's still uncertainty in the U.S. as the virus starts to make its presence felt, there are words of advice she can pass along to her fellow student-athletes.
"Follow the government's advice and stay at home," she said. "I can't stress the importance of that enough. You will survive a couple of weeks of not being social. It's better than a whole summer of quarantine."
TTU Athletics encourages all of our student-athletes, staff, fans and supporters to follow the CDC's guidelines to slow the spread of coronavirus COVID-19. For more information, follow this link.
Photos | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
