The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Globetrotters
International newcomers Edwards, Muhl expect to arrive at UConn shortly
It appears the UConn women’s basketball team might be close to whole when players finally return to campus.
Freshmen Nika Muhl and Aaliyah Edwards, two of the team’s three international players, are planning to join their teammates in Storrs later this week, if not shortly after.
Muhl, a 5-foot-10 guard from Croatia, told Hearst Connecticut Media she hopes to get her visa and be on campus within the next week and a half. A source close to Edwards said the 6-2 wing from Canada is optimistic she’ll be able to arrive at school this weekend.
The return date for rising sophomore Anna Makurat, a 6-1 guard from Poland, is not known at the moment.
UConn began allowing men’s basketball players back June 19 as a pilot program to re-open campus to the rest of the student body next month. Football players were eligible to return starting July 1. Women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma told reporters earlier this month that July 25-26 was the date he’s aiming for.
Monday was the first day college basketball programs were allowed to hold team activities. Those sessions may last up to eight weeks until Sept. 15 or the first day of classes, whichever comes first.
“I didn’t want them here any earlier,” Auriemma said on Zoom. “You can’t work with players until July 20 anyway, so why bring them here in June?”
With that said, Auriemma wasn’t
sure whether he would have his entire 10-player roster available to him at once. Concerns over the coronavirus and travel restrictions have complicated efforts to get international students into the country.
Auriemma said he was communicating with Connecticut’s congressional delegation for help in that matter.
“You would think something as simple as go to the Canadian border and drive across, well those days are over. That’s an issue,” Auriemma said, referring to Edwards. “Nika needs to fly over from Zagreb. Well, the U.S. embassy hasn’t been open, so getting a visa has become a real problem. They’re not letting international flights come into the U.S. except for citizens of the United States. So Anna’s not going to have an easy time.
“These issues have been really, really difficult to overcome.”