STUDENT-athletes are dealt the challenge of juggling academic and athletic responsibilities. And on occasions when academic requirements coincide with athletic demands, the choice which of the two takes priority sometimes befuddle such individuals.
But for National University middle blocker Sheena Toring, academics took precedence over athletics and it was the reason she had to sit out Saturday's five-set win over Ateneo.
Toring begged off due to a reason students know all too well — lack of sleep. She burned the so-called midnight oil preparing for her thesis defense.
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Toring, a BS Tourism Management major at NU, said in an interview that she only had two hours of sleep prior to Saturday's game against the Blue Eagles. And rather than play and not be in top form, Toring opted to sit out the contest to give her team the best chance of winning.
"I’m happy kasi yung goal ko talaga today [against Adamson] is mag-contribute talaga. Last game kasi, wala ako. Puyat kasi ako. 2 hours lang tulog ko," Toring said to explain her absence in the previous match.
NU coach Norman Miguel was informed of the situation and apparently accepted Toring's reason to skip the match. She said she told Miguel: "Coach, 'di ko talaga kaya maglaro kasi 2 hours lang [tulog] ko."
Toring said she tried hard to make up for her missed game when NU played Adamson, which NU won, 25-17, 25-20, 25-20, in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum..
Balancing act
The NU middle blocker admitted getting distracted by the student-athlete balancing act, but now that her prep for her thesis is complete, her full focus in on the Lady Bulldogs' title redemption chase.
"May part talaga na na-distract ako [dahil kulang] sa tulog — especially na research 'yun. Ngayon, since tapos na 'yun, kailangan mag-focus na these coming days [at makatulog din]," she said.
Toring isn't the only Lady Bulldog dealing with such a challenge as Bella Belen missed her mock defense on the same day as the NU-Ateneo game, while Alyssa Solomon will also have her defense in the coming days.
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