3-12-20

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THURSDAY, APRIL 5

THURSDAY, MARCH 12

VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42

VOLUME 116, ISSUE 43

UNI SEVEN

THEATRE UNI

TENNIS

NEWS PAGE 2

CAMPUS LIFE PAGE 5

SPORTS PAGE 6

The CME honored the 50th anniversary of the UNI Seven.

TheatreUNI presents “You Can’t Take It With You.”

The UNI Panthers take down the St. Thomas Tommies in Saturday’s match.

ELIZABETH KELSEY News Editor

The situation surrounding the novel coronavirus (COVID19) is changing moment by moment. As of Wednesday, March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a pandemic. According to the CDC on Wednesday, there were 938 total cases of coronavirus in the United States and 29 total deaths. The CDC releases updated numbers each day at 12 p.m. ET. In the wake of Iowa’s first cases of COVID-19 (the number of confirmed cases currently stands at 13) and multiple univer-

sities nationwide transitioning to online or distance learning, UNI administration released a campus email on Wednesday afternoon stating that classes would be moved online until at least April 3. “We are requesting faculty work closely with students in order to continue coursework in an uninterrupted manner during this time,” the email stated. “Faculty members should communicate with their students as soon as they determine next steps in arranging the delivery of their instruction and course materials.” See CORONAVIRUS, page 2

GABRIELLE Tribune News Service

UNI student Tyler DeBondt wins ‘NBA 2K20’ Global Championship COLBY WEBER Staff Writer

On February 22, UNI junior physical education major Tyler DeBondt won the “NBA 2K20” Global Championship. After competing with players from around the world in Burbank, Calif., he won the grand prize of $100,000. The tournament featured eight qualifiers that faced off in best-of-three matches in the basketball simulation video game. Each NBA team within the game could only be used once per player. Because of this, DeBondt tried to save the better teams for the finals. DeBondt trained every day in order to get ready for the tournament. He said he has been playing the “2K” series since “NBA 2K9,” and he doesn’t play many other video games besides “Madden” and “Fortnite.”

“I played for four to six hours per day with different teams to get ready for the tournament,” DeBondt said. “I had to practice with nine different teams in case every series went to a best-ofthree.” His favorite part of the event was getting the opportunity to compete. During high school, he was a foursport athlete who enjoyed competition. Now, DeBondt plays “2K” to get a similar feeling of competition that is demonstrated in basketball. When he’s playing “2K,” he said that he feels the same highs and lows that he felt during high school competitions. DeBondt stated that the “meta” of the game varied from player to player, meaning that he devised his own unique approach to the tournament. For DeBondt’s strategy, he tried to turn his oppo-

nent over as much as possible while shooting a lot of three point shots. Going into the tournament, DeBondt said that he felt these tactics gave him the best shot at winning. DeBondt also previously participated in a 250K MyTeam tournament. After making it to the final 16, he lost a 10-point lead. DeBondt said that this loss helped him to prepare and move forward. “I learned a lot this year from competing,” DeBondt said. “I think the thing I learned the most was just how to keep my composure no matter what. I believe this competition will help me in future events as well. Going out to LA was a great experience for me.” After winning the competition, DeBondt has made plans for what he’ll do with the prize money. Part of it will go to his little brother, who has been a major sup-

COURTESY PHOTO

porter of Debondt’s throughout his tournament efforts. Besides that, he plans on saving and investing the rest of his prize. In addition to the cash, DeBondt got a sense of relief after winning. He said that he feels as if all of his life, he had come up short in sports. Throughout his high school sports career, DeBondt made it to sub-state four times but

never made it to the state level. DeBondt had advice that he wanted to give to those who are looking to get into competitive eSports. “Just follow your dreams,” said DeBondt. “Do not let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. If you put time and effort into pursuing your dreams, you will be successful.”


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