By Owen Gotimer
LoCoSports Editor-in-Chief
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Ashburn (February 18, 2016) — Briar Woods High School senior Olivia Davis has made a commitment to continue her field hockey career at Christopher Newport University beginning in the 2016-2017 academic year.
“Originally when I started looking at colleges, playing field hockey was nowhere on the map, and I was interested in larger schools. I had emailed a few colleges my schedules for tournaments, and when I started receiving some interest going into my junior year, it really got me thinking that playing was a great possibility,” the 5-foot-9 Davis said. “I looked at a ton of schools, but at the end of the day, CNU was the perfect fit for me. It is a smaller school, which I learned fits me better and the perfect distance from home, so my parents can come see me play. I really had a great connection with coach Moura and liked the way she ran her program. I think DIII is the perfect level for me because it will allow me to still partake in other activities without being too busy.”
Division III student-athletes certainly have to work hard on the field and in the classroom, but Davis should be able to participate in more organizations and activities around campus. However, her primary extracurricular will definitely be field hockey.
The Division III Captains finished 13-4 in 2015 including a 5-1 mark in the Capital Athletic Conference. During her 13-year tenure at the helm of the CNU field hockey program, head coach Carrie Moura has led the Captains to eight NCAA DIII tournament appearances including six trips to the Sweet 16, two trips to the Elite 8 and a journey to the Final Four.
“I have never gotten to practice field hockey every day because it is not a varsity sport in LCPS, so I hope to improve my skills next year and hopefully help my team make it to the NCAA Final Four,” said Davis who will play goalie for the Captains.
Without a varsity field hockey program in Loudoun County, Davis worried that her lack of high school competition would knock her off of college recruiting watch lists.
While Davis is lucky enough to be able to play collegiately after not playing for a high school team, future LoCo student-athletes should not have to worry about that problem as field hockey is set to become a varsity sport in Loudoun this fall.
“I am very upset I never got the chance to play in high school, but I am also very excited for all the girls who will get the chance to. Field hockey is a great sport, and hopefully, a lot of girls will give it a try and try out next year. With it being a fall sport, hopefully some soccer and lacrosse girls will pick it up and grow to love it just like I have,” Davis said. “Most of my teammates are from Fairfax County and all have very competitive high school teams; it would be really great to see LCPS grow to that level.”
