Top Athletes Ink Commitments
November 30, 2016
14 senior athletes signed letters of intent during lunch on November 15, confirming their plans to attend and compete at various colleges and universities in the fall of 2017.
The signees gathered at a row of tables in the quad while Principal John Walker provided introductions and announced their commitments. Family and friends took pictures of the athletes signing their letters.
Senior Becca Buck, who committed to UC Santa Barbara for water polo, said that the ceremony “was pretty fun. There was tons of people there, so that was nice.” Other seniors committing to play water polo include Carlie Crumbaugh (Indiana University), Kari Jensen (USC), and Olivia Price (Harvard).
“My mom came and my friends were there. I have a couple friends signing, too,” added senior Sabrina Smith, who will be playing volleyball at UCLA. Her teammates Josie Cole and Janelle Gong also committed for volleyball, and will be attending UC Irvine and University of Hawaii, respectively. Mens’ volleyball player Gage Worsley will also be attending University of Hawaii.
Smith said the ceremony was “really cool because [the committing athletes] have all been through the same process, and it was cool to kinda be able to be honored for what we’ve been doing.”
Senior Grace Brown, who plans to attend University of Virginia for crew, said that she’s excited about her commitment. “Being a D1 athlete will be super time consuming, but at [University of Virginia], they provide so many great academic advisors, tutors, stuff like that, that could really help with academics as an athlete. So that’s exciting. And team-wise, it’ll be great,” Brown said.
Joey Berzins committed to play football for UC Davis. Swimmers Jolen Griffin and Rachel Hendricks committed to UCSB and Davidson College, respectively. For soccer, Mariah Brown committed to College of the Holy Cross, and Julie Hyatt to University of Rochester.
While the ceremony was enjoyed by the athletes, Buck said that the process of applying for and choosing a school was stressful. “You’re talking to a lot of coaches and you’re visiting a lot of colleges,” she said. “I had to balance between my water polo schedule and when I could go on official visits, and talking to coaches is stressful because they’re looking at other people too, so you really have to show them that you’re interested or they might take someone else.”
Brown said that she found the process “pretty overwhelming.” She added, “But I think being introduced to the girls on the team and the coaches makes you a lot more comfortable about working that hard at that level. Yes, it’s super stressful. You don’t know what’s going to happen. But honestly when you’re finally confirmed, it’s exciting.”
