SEATTLE - Symptoms of the flu have benched nearly half the University of Washington Men's Basketball team.
Five of the 12 players were either at home resting or in the stands wearing surgical masks. In the time of swine flu, no one's taking any chances.
So far the UW’s been nearly immune from outbreaks of the flu. The latest numbers from the UW student health center show there are now only 32 likely cases of the flu - that's for student population of around 39,000.
But any illusion that immunity would last ended on the basketball court Tuesday night.
Tuesday night’s UW's basketball practice showed the teams ranks withered by flu. Only seven players took to the court. The remaining five players were out sick.
The pair well enough to come to practice wore surgical masks and sat far from other players.
"We haven't been able to have a full practice because we've had an outbreak of the flu," said Coach Lorenzo Romar. "Half the team has the flu, so we really haven’t been able to get out there."
A UW spokesperson said they won't test for swine flu unless the outbreak worsens.
Right now, the five players' symptoms appear mild.
Under the glare of Tuesday night intramural lights, some UW students watched more than the ball. They made sure they don't catch anything else.
"I haven't noticed swine flu, but people are being precautious people using anti-bacteria hand soap and stuff," said Brooke Bemer.
Erring on the side of caution, the UW passed out 10,000 flu kits at the beginning of the semester.
But college can be a contact sport, even on no-contact fields. Some say catching or not catching the flu is out of their control.
"Just something not to worry about since I can't do much about it," said Glen Sobrepena.
Coach Romar just wants the flu off his court.
"Every time we see the team, someone else has it," he said.
Romar expects the team to be healthy again soon. They do have time on their side. Their first regular season game isn't until November 13.
