Athletes verbally commit to colleges junior year or even sophomore year of high school.
But on Feb. 3, athletes were able to sign their National Letter of Intent (NLI) to officially commit to the college. Once the NLI has been signed, an athlete is guaranteed admission to the college.
Friends and family gathered at Carlmont to celebrate the official commitments of the six signees.
Senior Jacey Phipps will attend San Jose State University for softball.
Senior Jacey Phipps smiles with her parents as they all sport San Jose State University apparel.
“Signing my NLI took so much pressure off of me, because when you’re verbally committed, if the coach changes then you won’t have a scholarship anymore. It’s a great feeling knowing that I’m actually going there now,” said Phipps.
Senior Colley Loum will be attending the University of Pennsylvania for crew. Senior Claire Grundig will also continue crew in college, at Yale University.
Senior Claire Grundig stands with her father. “I am excited for the college experience and to spend time with the team,” said Grundig.
Senior Alyssa Fagel will be attending Yale University with Grundig next year as a goalie for the soccer team. She has played on a club team and the high school team alongside senior Kayla Fong, who will attend UC Berkeley for soccer.
Senior Alyssa Fagel proudly stands with her parents, who have supported her for the many years she has played competitive soccer.
The girls soccer team baked cookies, decorated balloons, and made signs for Fagel and senior Kayla Fong in support for their commitments to Yale and UC Berkeley respectively.
Senior Finigan Tilly will also be attending UC Berkeley next year for golf.
Senior Finigan Tilly’s friends show their support by watching him as he is recognized for his commitment. They surround him as he wears his UC Berkeley shirt.
These six seniors know where they will be next year, but many others are still waiting to decide where they will end up.
“I was looking at Kayla and Alyssa, and their shirts said Cal and Yale, and those are huge colleges. I was thinking about the college life and thinking, ‘Wow I’m going to be there in less than eight months.’ It’s scary to think about. It hasn’t really settled in that I’m going to be graduating,” said senior Camron Dennler.
Graduation is quickly approaching for 2016 seniors, and the ceremony for the six commits have shown the hard work and passion they have put into their sport for the past years.
“I’m really proud about what they’ve done and what they’ve accomplished. They’ve worked really hard for everything they’ve done and deserve every minute of athletics they can get,” said girls varsity head coach Tina Smith.
The six commits of 2016 proudly wear their college apparel as they celebrate with friends and family their official commitments to colleges.
