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05/31/2020 12:00 AMThe coronavirus pandemic put a wrench in the CIAC’s plans to crown state champions this winter, after which the entire 2020 spring season was canceled. As COVID-19 affects student-athletes across the United States, it also created a difficult decision for Sara Wohlgemuth, an all-time point guard for the Hand girls’ basketball team. Wohlgemuth recently announced that she is going to continue her career at Florida Southern College, instead of at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU).
Wohlgemuth, a senior, was set on attending SNHU to play basketball, study biology, and eventually get into physician’s assistant work. However, on April 22, she received an email which stated that all classes at the school were going to be held online for her first year due to the virus. Wohlgemuth anticipated that classes would be more hybrid types following that first year, with her taking classes both online and in person, but that’s not what she was looking for.
“They are such a strong online institution and a very well-respected school. For me, this was strictly an academic decision,” said Wohlgemuth. “I was concerned about the labs and being able to do things hands-on. I loved the school and the basketball program, but I wanted to do things in a classroom setting, as opposed to online. I called Coach [Karen] Pinkos, and she was very respectful of my decision and understood that it was a tough choice for me.”
With little time to spare, Wohlgemuth, Hand Head Coach Tim Tredwell, and Wohlgemuth’s AAU coaches started reaching out to coaches from different colleges to see if any were interested in recruiting the 5-foot, 4-inch guard. Wohlgemuth emailed 55 different schools throughout the process.
“I felt awful for Sara when she told me about SNHU’s plan to move to strictly online classes. I knew that wasn’t the academic experience she was looking for,” Tredwell said. “But, as Sara does, she attacked the problem head-on, compressing about three years’ worth of recruiting into just four weeks.”
Wohlgemuth was a three-time All-State selection and a three-time All-SCC First Team honoree who also earned the conference’s Player of the Year Award after averaging 18 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 3.1 steals per game as a senior. Wohlgemuth finished her high school career as the third-leading scorer in Hand girls’ hoops history with 1,517 points. She also had 518 rebounds, 349 steals, and 298 assists throughout her Tigers’ tenure.
On top of her individual statistics, Wohlgemuth helped Hand achieve a tremendous amount of success during the past few years. Wohlgemuth and the Tigers won the Class L state title in 2017, made it back to the Class L final last year, and were sporting a record of 20-4 with a berth in the state quarterfinals before the 2020 season was canceled in the middle of the tournament.
A few schools came to the forefront for Wohlgemuth after she decided that she wasn’t going to go to SNHU. Eventually, she locked in on Florida Southern, which like SNHU, has a Division II basketball program. Wohlgemuth made the 18-hour drive to Lakeland, Florida to tour the campus and also interacted with Head Coach Betsy Harris and several players on the team through Zoom. Wohlgemuth said that all of these experiences had a major impact on her decision to attend the school.
“I knew a lot of rosters had already been filled, so I was nervous,” Wohlgemuth said. “Trying to find a school that fit all of my needs was tough, but I knew this was going to be the place for me. The academics are great, and the whole team just made me feel like I was at home. The one thing that stuck with me was that they told me I was going to get homesick, but that I would always have them to lean on.”
Coach Tredwell was happy when he found out that Wohlgemuth had found her new home away from home. Tredwell feels confident that Wohlgemuth is going to fit in perfectly at Florida Southern.
“Sara finds herself in a fantastic situation at Florida Southern. Having spoken to Coach Harris, I know they are very excited to have Sara join their program, and she will have every opportunity to make an immediate impact,” Tredwell said. “Most importantly, I’m proud of how she handled the situation and am so happy that all of her hard work paid off.”
Wohlgemuth has great expectations for what she can accomplish with the Moccasins. She wants to help the team in any way she can as a freshman, whether it’s as a member of the starting lineup or coming off the bench. As she prepares for the next chapter of her career, Wohlgemuth knows that everything she learned at Hand will help her immensely as she gets ready to play college ball.
“I think my time at Hand benefited me a lot, and I learned so much from all of my experience there,” said Wohlgemuth. “My time at Hand was the best four years of my life. They tried to make you the best player that you could be, and I really appreciated that.”