13 NCHS Student-Athletes Sign Letters To Play D-1 Sports in College

Thirteen New Canaan High School seniors on Wednesday signed commitment letters to play sports in Division I in college starting next year. 

NCHS Athletic Director Jay Egan said during the school’s annual ceremony for the student-athletes that it’s “a celebration of things that have been accomplished by the athletes and their families.”

“But if you really think about it, it’s a beginning,” Egan told a crowd of student-athletes, friends, families and coaches gathered in the Wagner Room at NCHS. “It’s an opportunity. It’s a great opportunity for you to get involved and participate in Division I college athletics. And I think that it’s something that changes your life forever. It’s something that when you participate, and you make the sacrifices, and you do all the things that you need to do there, it’s who you are for the rest of your life. It’s not easy. I think a lot of times people do things that are worthwhile because they’re hard. So this is not going to be easy, but it’s a great opportunity.”

He added that companies seek athletes when hiring because “they want people who know how to work hard.”

“They want people who know how to sacrifice and people who know how to work with other people,” he said.

We asked the student-athletes why they chose their future schools, and put their responses next to photos of relatives in attendance:

Kristen Borner

• Crew 
• Fairfield University

“I looked at a bunch of different schools and toured them. I just liked the campus and the rowing team there. I got along with all the girls and I went to a few classes. All of that combined, plus a partial scholarship for merit to go there as well, kind of made my decision.”

 

Macyn Callahan 

• Lacrosse 
• Notre Dame

“I chose Notre Dame because one of my best friends, Ceci Patterson, went the year before me. She’s my same position and she went to high school with me. I played under her until I was an upperclassman, and she’s a huge role model for me. And I trusted her and I trusted my process, so when she said it felt like home, I felt like it would be home for me.”

 

Madison Ciavarelli 

• Lacrosse 
• Vanderbilt

“For the academics and the team culture. I really liked the coaches a lot and the culture they created. And i wanted to go somewhere warm.”

 

 

 

Allie Cicia 

• Lacrosse 
• Richmond

“I really liked the school mostly because of the team and coaches. It’s such a great culture. I also liked all the different aspects of the school. It has great academics and a great lacrosse program. The team is just really welcoming. That’s a big reason why I chose it.”

 

Jack Crowell 

• Lacrosse
• Princeton

“In my recruiting process, I really fell in love with the school and the coaches. It’s just a great university and the lacrosse team is everything I was looking for.”

 

 

Julie Frangione

• Diving
• Lafayette

“I loved the team and the coach was very nice. I also love the campus and the opportunities they have there for school.” 

 

 

Clare Greisen 

• Soccer
• Northwestern

“I went to a bunch of different schools, and in the end it was just the community and the people. Their coaching staff and facilities are off the charts, and academically it was a place that I want to challenge myself at. Overall it’s just an amazing school.”

 

 

Anna Hering 

• Field Hockey
• Northeastern

“I chose Northeastern because I just love Boston and found that the school is such a good fit. I fell in love with the coaching system. Honestly, the first time I visited it was such a welcoming community and I loved the environment, the players, the coaches and my incoming class.” 

 

Maddox Hoffman

• Baseball
• Northwestern

“I love the coaching staff, the location and the academics and athletics and the national schedule. You just can’t beat it.”

 

 

Kaitlyn Knowles

• Swimming
• Providence

“I absolutely adored the campus and I think the team is really what sold me on it. I didn’t really believe in the ‘when you know you know,’ as in you go there and meet the team. I didn’t believe in that until I was at Providence and I met the team, and I knew in that moment that this was the place for me. I’m meant to be there.”

 

Matt Reed

• Lacrosse
• Holy Cross

“I love the coaches and the campus. I just loved it overall, the teammates.”

 

 

 

Skylar Strupp

• Lacrosse
• Villanova

“It’s a good fit for me. I fell in love with the coaches and the academics. Just overall, the school campus and culture.”

 

 

 

Leah Zheng

• Tennis
• Dartmouth

“I loved the community and the environment that it provided. And it had that small-town feel that I was really looking for.”