Ben Thielsen (Courtesy of UNCW Media Relations)
The CAA weekend series between Delaware and UNC-Wilmington has been cancelled due to fears of the Swine flu that has been reported on the Delaware campus and baseball program. According to a press release by the CAA, one of the Delaware players has fallen ill with the suspected Swine flu virus that has also cancelled high school games in Texas and Alabama. You can check out the CAA press release below.
RICHMOND, Va. -The threat of a swine flu (H1-N1 virus) outbreak at the University of Delaware has forced the cancellation of the Delaware baseball team’s three-game series at UNC Wilmington and the Blue Hen softball team’s three-game series at Hofstra this weekend.
A member of the Delaware baseball team was one of the initial four cases of suspected swine flu diagnosed on campus Tuesday. Six more UD students who were ill with flu-like symptoms and treated at UD Student Health Services on Wednesday have been given a probable diagnosis of swine flu. None of the other six are UD student-athletes.
The Delaware baseball team was scheduled to bus to North Carolina on Thursday to begin a pivotal three-game CAA series with UNCW, beginning with a single game Friday, May 1, at 7 p.m. The series was scheduled to continue with single games Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. The cancelled series will be treated like a series cancelled under the conference’s inclement weather policies and the three games will not be rescheduled. Delaware (23-15, 8-7 CAA) and UNC Wilmington (24-17, 8-7 CAA) are currently tied for fourth place in the league standings.
The Blue Hen softball team (21-18, 7-9 CAA) was scheduled to travel to league-leading Hofstra (26-17, 14-3 CAA) in Hempstead, N.Y. to take on the Pride in a doubleheader Friday at 2 p.m. and a single game Saturday at 12 noon. Since those contests were the final regular season games for Delaware this spring, the Blue Hens’ season has ended. The cancellation of the games also means that Hofstra has clinched the CAA regular-season title and will host the CAA Softball Championship on May 6-8.
“The CAA, in consultation with university and public health officials, will continue to monitor the outbreak of the H1-N1 virus in our communities and will react accordingly,” CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager said. “Our singular concern is to protect the health of our student-athletes, fans and the general public to the best of our abilities.”
The status of all other UD athletics events are being considered on a case-by-case basis and will be continually monitored. Delaware’s women’s lacrosse team is still scheduled to face Old Dominion in the semifinals of the CAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship tonight at 7:30 p.m. at William & Mary.
