Local girls lacrosse players are having a banner stretch in Division I recruiting, as Sadie Bryant kept it going by committing to Gardner Webb this week.
“I have always wanted to go south for school and once I visited G-WU I loved the atmosphere on campus,” Bryant said.
Bryant, who started her career at Covenant where she helped spark the Eagles to a Division II state title before transferring to St. Anne’s this year, is headed to Gardner-Webb to join the Runnin’ Bulldogs, a fledgling program led by a face familiar to local girls lacrosse fans — Jacquelyn Duggins. Duggins, an Albemarle graduate who played at Virginia Tech, is the first head coach for G-W and is tasked with getting the program off the ground before the 2015 season when they’ll compete in the Big South conference.
“I love the idea of being a part of a new D-I lacrosse team that is just beginning,” Bryant said. “Even though it’s a year and a half away, I can’t wait to start a new journey.”
Bryant is the latest STAB girls lacrosse junior to decide where she’s going to play Division I lacrosse. Teammate Audrey Schreck committed to Denver this fall and fellow junior Julia Haney committed to Princeton back in May. Across the area, a number of strong players continue to get a chance at the Division I level with Albemarle’s Connor Carson at Old Dominion and Bridget Shaffrey now at Bucknell while Monticello senior Colleen O’Connor signed this fall with Division I St. Mary’s.
Bryant broke out as a hard-nosed, tenacious defender in lacrosse at Covenant, but grew by leaps and bounds as a sophomore during the Eagles’ state title run. She earned All-VISAA Division 2 honors and first team All-Scrimmage Play honors during that season. She scored three-straight goals for Covenant in the state title game to tie the contest at 11-11, including back-to-back tallies within 30 seconds of each other.
This fall she earned All-Scrimmage Play honors as a part of the STAB field hockey team.
