Twelve Sacred Heart Greenwich students in the Class of 2021 signed to pursue their athletic careers at the next level.  Seniors Grace Lillis, Hannah Dempsey, Rachel Keefe, Fiona Lewis, Sam Novak, Micaela Rivera, Lianna Amoruso, Hanke Govaert, Beth Yeager, MaryGrace Farrell, Alana Frederick, and Fernanda Serna signed their National Letters of Intent (NLI) December 9.  These seniors will further their athletic achievements after graduation at Division I (DI) and Division III (DIII) institutions.

An NLI is a binding agreement between a prospective student-athlete and a National Letter of Intent member institution, according to nationalletter.org. 

Grace, Hannah, Rachel, and Fiona will continue their lacrosse careers at DI and DIII colleges in the fall of 2021.  In addition to playing other varsity sports at the school, these four students currently play for the Sacred Heart varsity lacrosse team.

Grace will play at the University of Pennsylvania next year.  The University of Pennsylvania’s women’s lacrosse team ranks tenth out of all D1 women’s lacrosse teams across the country, according to insidelacrosse.com.  This ranking takes into account the few games the team was able to play in the spring of 2020.

Fiona will take her lacrosse talents to Pomona College, a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium. Pomona has a joint women’s lacrosse program with Pitzer College, another of the Claremont Colleges.  The Pomona-Pitzer women’s lacrosse team ranked sixteenth in DIII women’s lacrosse last March, according to uslaxmagazine.com.  Fiona recognized how the Sacred Heart Athletic Department made the signing day special for all student-athletes celebrating their accomplishments.

“Although signing day was different than how it has been in the past, the school worked really hard to make it a very special experience for me and my classmates,” Fiona said.

This fall, Rachel will join the University of Chicago’s DIII women’s lacrosse team as a goalie.  The University of Chicago Phoenixes went 3-0 in the games that they were able to play in February and March of 2020, according to athletics.uchicago.edu.

Hannah will further her lacrosse career at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.  The Bucknell University Bisons went 3-5 in their spring 2020 games, with victories over Sacred Heart University, Binghamton University, and Campbell University in 2020.

After co-captaining the Sacred Heart fall crew team in 2020, Sam will compete with Bucknell University’s DI rowing team as a coxswain.  Micaela will row for Trinity College’s DIII rowing team.  Micaela discussed how rowing at Sacred Heart has helped her grow into the athlete that she is today.

“Rowing at Sacred Heart has helped me grow into the athlete and person I am today because it has taught me the importance of teamwork and working together,” Micaela said.  “I would not be where I am today without the support of my teammates and coaches at Sacred Heart.”

Lianna will advance her golf career at DIII Washington and Lee University.  The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ranks Washington and Lee women’s golf fourth in the Southeast Conference, according to ncaa.com.  Additionally, the Washington and Lee Generals came in fourth place in all three of their tournaments in the 2019-2020 season, according to wlu.prestosports.com.  Lianna reflected on how signing day was a rewarding celebration of the Sacred Heart’s athlete’s achievements.

“My favorite part of signing day was sharing it with those who supported me the most throughout my athletic career as well as with the other incredible athletes I’ve grown up with,” Lianna said.  “It was a truly rewarding celebration of our achievements, and brought my athletic career at Sacred Heart full-circle in a beautiful way.  I was so grateful that we could still have such a special day amid a pandemic.”

Hanke, Beth, and MaryGrace will all take their field hockey talents to the Ivy League this fall.  Hanke will attend Cornell University, MaryGrace will start at the University of Pennsylvania, and Beth, one of the captains for Sacred Heart’s field hockey team, will join Princeton University’s team.  All three of the teams rank in the top 40 for DI women’s field hockey with Princeton University, Cornell University, and the University of Pennsylvania ranking fourth, 28th, and 33rd respectively, according to ncaa.com.

Beth reflected on how her experience as a Sacred Heart athlete has impacted her as a person.

“Playing sports at Sacred Heart has had a crucial impact on my development as both an athlete and a person,” Beth said.  “Specifically, it taught me what it means to be a part of a team and a community, as well as the importance of a team culture which emphasizes commitment, teamwork, excellence and joy.  Additionally, it helped me to develop my own sense of leadership by exposing me to many different types of leaders.  My favorite part about the signing day was being surrounded by my classmates and them achieving their dreams.”

After playing on Sacred Heart’s varsity soccer team, Alana and Fernanda will take their soccer talents to the collegiate level.  Alana played on the varsity soccer team for five years, and Fernanda for four years.

Fernanda will be playing for Fordham University’s DI women’s soccer team.  The Fordham University Rams went 5-11-4 in their fall 2019 season, according to fordhamsports.com.

Alana was one of the captains for the team in the 2020 season.  She will attend Carnegie Mellon University where she will continue her soccer and academic careers.  Carnegie Mellon’s DIII women’s soccer team ranked second in the Great Lakes division after their 2019 fall season, according to ncaa.com.  The team went 11-5-1 in the season.  

Alana’s soccer season looked different this year due to COVID-19, yet she was still able to learn more about her sport and the importance of teamwork.

“The effects of Covid on sports this year has definitely been hard, however it has made me appreciate my team and the time we did have on the field even more,” Alana said.  “I have been able to improve individually in my sport more than ever.  I have also experienced the true meaning of teamwork, when we were not all physically together and had to still find ways to motivate each other and continue to progress as a whole.”

Alana credits her growth as a player to her experience on the team and the supportive atmosphere that it fosters.

“Playing a sport at Sacred Heart has been the backbone to my high school experience,” Alana said.  “I have not only been able to grow as a player, but I have learned what it means to be apart of a team.  The best part about Sacred Heart sports is the team atmosphere, each team is like its own family in the way we guide, support, and lead each other.  Some of my fondest memories come from the sports teams I have been apart of at Sacred Heart and although I am sad to be leaving I will be able to hold on to those memories for the rest of my life.”

Featured Image by Dylan Drury ’22