As the news of spring sport cancellations due to COVID-19 reached SMU athletes, their reactions all appeared to be the same — shock and disbelief. Atipa Mabonga, track and field athlete, scrambled to comfort others. Her teammate, Jacy Sparks, believed it had to be a joke that her senior season had been taken from her. At that moment on March 12th, the athlete’s dreams for the next few months were crushed.
Sparks suffered a back injury her sophomore year that required surgery.