Isabel Hernandez grew up in Italy dreaming about learning all the languages of the world.
Starting in August, she will be concentrating on her English when she begins her freshman year at the University of Maine.
Hernandez, who lives in Rome, recently made a verbal commitment to study and play basketball at UMaine.
“I chose the University of Maine because [of] its very good academic programs and its high-level roster, staff and basketball team,” Hernandez said in an email.
The 5-foot-11 Hernandez plays for Polisportiva Battipagliese, a team based near Naples that recently finished ninth in the national championships. She said the squad is competing in the third division (A3) playoffs and as a regional champion is preparing for the U19 national finals in two weeks.
During the A3 tournament, Hernandez is averaging 12 points and 5.4 rebounds in 32 minutes per game and is shooting 58 percent from the field overall and 40 percent from the 3-point arc.
“I can play as a guard or as a forward, and my strengths are the shot and the rebounds,” she said. “I’m a player who plays for the team, with character. I mean, even in the most difficult situations I never give up.”
Hernandez has spoken with members of the UMaine coaching staff via phone and mail, but said she had provided game videos that eventually led to her being offered a scholarship.
“I had contacts with other U.S. colleges, some of them interested in me but, besides the good basket[ball], for my academic formation I decided to choose Maine,” she said.
Hernandez, whose father is from Mexico, spends her summers there and called it her second home. She said she speaks Italian, Spanish and English, but she hopes to add either French or Russian.
She is interested in international relations and is considering studying political science at UMaine.
Hernandez’s participation at UMaine is contingent upon her acceptance by the university and compliance with NCAA rules.
Weather alters UMaine baseball series
The UMaine baseball team has adjusted its three-game series against Stony Brook in the hope of maximizing a short window of good weather.
The Black Bears and Seawolves will play a doubleheader Friday starting at 2 p.m., then will attempt to squeeze in the finale on either Saturday or Sunday, weather permitting.
“I think it’s the smartest move,” said UMaine head coach Steve Trimper, who cautioned that snow is forecast for Saturday and windy, cold conditions are predicted for Easter Sunday.
This is the second of only four home conference weekends this spring for UMaine, which has thus far been able to play only three of its six America East games because of snow or cold conditions.
“We’ve got to get ourselves going,” Trimper said of playing games on a regular basis to develop a rhythm.
“The whole thing about the weather is you’ve got to err on the side of, are we doing the right thing for these kids or are we trying to just squeeze games in?” he added, referring to playing in winter-like conditions.
Trimper said he will continue to push for a return to an America East schedule that delays the start of league play for a couple of weeks in the hope of better weather and field conditions. That likely would entail playing four seven-inning games over two days for conference series.
“We’re not an at-large bid conference, we never will be,” he said of NCAA tournament selection. “So these games mean a lot. They’re very important.”
The other potential issue this week is the short turnaround for the pitchers. Games are usually scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, but America East pushed the games up by one day in the hope of avoiding competition on Easter.
However, UMaine played twice last Sunday, meaning anybody scheduled to pitch Friday had only four days rest. The situation is worse for Stony Brook, which played two games on Monday at UMass Lowell.
“It’s certainly not idea for either team,” Trimper said.