Visual Boundaries

Carolann gets her first bit of basketball playing time during the UMass Minutewomen’s home opener against Kent State on November 10 2012 since her ALC injury.

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Carolann takes off her warm up as she heads onto the floor during UMass’ home-opener on November 10 2012 against Kent State with only a few minutes left to go.

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Carolann anxiously watches UMass’ first home game against Kent State on November 10 2012 with her fellow teammates. Though she wasn’t scheduled to play that day she said it all depended on the outlook of the game.

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Carolann fights through the discomfort as she continues to try and regain the same strength she once had in her left leg. Her goal in the coming weeks is to get back up to the same amount she could lift before her injury.

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Carolann records her lifts so far while she works out with the team in the weight room as she continues to build back the strength she once had in her legs before her injury.

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Carolann, who plays guard, cheers on her teammates from the sidelines as they run drills during their practice at the Curry Hicks Cage just days before their first home game on November 10 2012.

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Carolann and her teammates run a defensive drill during their practice at the Cage on November 8 2012. “The defense is the hard part right now for me,” she says as she continues to prepare herself for their home-opener that Saturday.

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Carolann watches from the sidelines as her teammates run drills during practice on November 8 2012 at the Cage. After her surgery, Cloutier remembers waking up at 5am and just watching the team practice as she recovered. “I was here all summer watching them play pick up, run and lift until I could start in July.”

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Carolann Cloutier adjusts her brace at the start of practice for the UMass Women’s Basketball team on November 8, 2012. Cloutier has to wear the brace after tearing her ACL, MCL and parcial meniscus last year.

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Getting back to the way things were

After suffering a season-ending injury late last year, red-shirt junior from Montreal Canada, Carolann Cloutier focused much of her off season and time leading up to the UMass Women’s basketball home-opener against Kent State, on getting back to the same level of performance she once had.

Last year Carolann tore her ACL, MCL and partial meniscus. She waited 6 weeks for the MCL to heal and then had surgery on her ACL as well as the meniscus. Carolann worked actively with a trainer for 5 months after her surgery working on agility and her leg muscles so she could start getting back up to the playing ability she knows she is capable of.

“The hardest thing is probably still, now is trying to get the speed back,” said Carolann. For right now she is just trying to focus on “just getting back to normal” so she can get back to playing basketball.

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Be sure to pick up the Collegian’s last edition of the semester! #umassamherst

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This fog is insane. You could it through it with a knife. #umassamherst #southwest

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Hand cut gingerbread people @katielandeck

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