Three of the eight Rancocas Valley Girls Lacrosse team seniors have made their commitment to play college lacrosse. 

Seniors Sydney Sventy and Emalie Clothier made their decisions last fall (2019) to play lacrosse at the University of New Hampshire and Rutgers University, which are both NCAA Division I schools. Most recently, Senior Mekelsey Montgomery made her decision to play lacrosse at the University of Tampa (NCAA Division II), early this fall (2020). 

All three girls have been playing together since age nine, for the RV Youth Lacrosse Association and have all been on RV’s varsity team since freshman year. 

“It’s great to be able to go through the commitment process with girls I have been playing with for as long as I can remember,” Clothier said. “The girls and my coaches really made me fall in love with the game. Going from youth lacrosse to high school lacrosse with these girls has been amazing and we all can not wait to enjoy our commitments this spring when we get back out on the lacrosse field, for our last season together.”

Montgomery attributes much of her lacrosse success to her high school lacrosse experience, teammates and coaches.

“RV lacrosse has impacted and contributed to my lacrosse career and life in more ways than one,” Montgomery said. “The team is such a family and I would do anything for those girls. They push me and challenge me to become a better player and are always there to pick you up when you need it most. The coaches look for the best in you and always believe in you. I would not be playing at the next level if it wasn’t for this team.”

Committing to college is a huge decision to make, one that requires a visit to the actual school. Luckily, Sventy was able to make her commitment before the COVID-19 outbreak struck the United States.

“From being committed before the whole pandemic started, it definitely gave me an advantage,” said Sventy. “With not being able to visit schools and being limited with your options of states to go to, losing that would have made the whole process way more stressful and complicated than it should be.” 

Montgomery, however, had to make her commitment in the midst of the pandemic. Fortunately, she got the opportunity to visit the school. 

“Although COVID prolonged my recruiting process and made it more challenging, I couldn’t be more happy to have ended up at Tampa,” Montgomery said. “It forced me to take my time and really reflect on what school is the best fit for me.”

With years of preparation from the RV lacrosse program, Montgomery is eager and excited for her future at Tampa. 

“I can’t express how pumped I am to continue the next chapter of my life at UT,” Montgomery said. “The coaches are amazing and the team dynamic is exactly what I was looking for.”

Clothier, who has been said to have a work ethic like no other and has been prioritizing lacrosse, can finally see all of her hard work paying off. Having made a college decision so early, she is thrilled and relieved for her final year of high school.

“It is really exciting to be committed going into senior year,” Clothier said. “It was stressful last year, so this year it’s definitely nice to have a more relaxing year, application wise. Now, I am just excited to play the game I love in college.” 

For Sventy, playing lacrosse at the University of New Hampshire is a dream come true. She had been contacting the coaches since the very beginning of the recruiting process, hopeful that UNH would love her as much as she loves the school and lacrosse program. 

“I get excited more and more every day, just waiting for the day when I get to move in,” Sventy said. “With the beach, mountains and even Boston only one hour away, there is nothing more that I could ask for or want at my school.”

RV girls lacrosse team head coach, Sara Shelley, has been coaching Clothier, Montgomery and Sventy for the past three years. These girls have greatly impacted her team in a positive way and Shelley has become very close with the committers. 

“Emalie, Mekelsey and Sydney have been incredibly dedicated lacrosse players since their freshman year at RV,” Shelley said. “They have all worked extremely hard to improve their skills and they are also tremendous teammates. Their commitment to the RV girls lacrosse program has been exceptional. I really look forward to seeing them play this spring in their senior season and know they will have terrific college lacrosse careers as well. We are all very proud of their commitments to play college lacrosse at the collegiate level at Rutgers, Tampa and New Hampshire.”