Each year, a new wave of Deerfield athletes enters into all divisions of collegiate athletics. For Division I and Division II athletes, the first step in this process is the signing of the National Letter of Intent, or NLI for short. This fall, Deerfield had four student-athletes from four different sports sign early to Division I and Division II programs. On November 8, 2017, Jose Boyer ’18 signed to play lacrosse at the University of Notre Dame, Bailey Smith ’18 signed to swim at Northeastern University, and Erin Tudryn ’18 signed to play field hockey at Molloy College. Additionally, on December 20, 2017, Mike Bevino ’18 signed to play football at Colgate University.
Bevino entered Deerfield this year as a postgraduate student and began his DA athletic career in the fall as a starting tight end for the football team. Bevino described his college recruiting process as a “very long and tiring process, filled with a lot of ups and downs.” According to Bevino, signing his intent to continue to play football at Colgate was “most exciting, stress relieving, blissful moment of [his] life.” He is very excited to start at Colgate in the fall, as he noted, “The campus is absolutely beautiful and I just couldn’t see myself anywhere else.”
Jose Boyer ’18 signing his National Letter of Intent on November 8th.
Boyer also came to Deerfield this year as a postgraduate. He verbally committed to the University of Notre Dame the summer leading into his junior year, with the understanding that he would have to do a fifth year of high school. For him, signing the NLI “really made him feel like all [his] hard work had paid off.” As a long stick midfielder, Boyer knew that he wanted the challenge that a top Division I lacrosse program like Notre Dame’s could offer him. He also noted that Notre Dame was unique to him because it “offered everything [he] was looking for academically, athletically and socially.”
Smith is a four-year senior, and currently serves as captain of the varsity swimming and diving team. She describes signing the NLI as “something I dreamt of since 7th or 8th grade” so on November 8th, she “couldn’t have been happier or prouder.” After a “long and demanding” recruiting process, Smith eventually chose Northeastern because of their support system for athletes. She is excited to participate in their co-op program, where she can “follow her passions before I even graduate college.”
Tudryn came to Deerfield last year as a new junior and quickly established a crucial role on all three of her varsity teams. She eventually ended up choosing Molloy because she “loved the vibe on campus and the team was so welcoming.” Tudryn described signing day as both exciting and nerve warcking. Recounting the day, she remembered that “there was a point where my hand was shaking that my signature didn’t look right!”
Looking forward to the next chapter in their athletic lives, all four athletes hope to take the lessons Deerfield Athletics has taught them and continue succeeding.