Wyoming Area junior Nina Angeli has given her verbal commitment to a field hockey scholarship from Michigan State University.
Submitted photo
Nina Angeli began contacting college field hockey coaches in eighth grade letting them know of her aspirations.
Angeli’s goals came to fruition this week when she gave her verbal commitment to a field hockey scholarship from Michigan State University.
“For most people involved in field hockey recruiting, we start very early,” said Angeli, a junior forward. “I started e-mailing coaches in eighth grade and even though you can’t talk to them for a while, it’s good to get your name out there, which is what I’ve been doing.”
Direct discussions with the coaches are allowed to begin June 15 prior to the field hockey player’s junior season.
“It all led up to June 15,” Angeli said. “That’s where it started. From there, I narrowed it down a couple weeks ago.”
Angeli has been in discussions with Michigan State and other schools since June 15. She considered other options and visited some schools on her own, but her only official recruiting visit was to the Big Ten school Dec. 2.
“It’s very far from where we’re from,” Angeli said. “I feel like I wouldn’t have been able to make the decision to go there unless I went out to see it and learn more about it.
“I planned the visit with the coach. When I went out there, I just knew. They say, ‘when you know, you know’.
“The whole time I was there; everything they were telling me – I met the team and the coaches – and everything felt like family. I really felt like it was the place that I wanted to go to college.”
Angeli, who is likely to major in kinesiology, will follow Wyoming Area senior Bianca Pizano to Michigan State.
They were both part of Wyoming Area’s first District 2 championship team and a trip to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class A state championship game.
Angeli scored 13 goals and tied for second on the team with eight assists.
Although Angeli already had recruiters interested, the attention the team received on its way to the state final provided a boost in the recruiting process.
“I’ve been talking to Michigan State since June 15, but I do think it helped me a lot for the recruiting process because a lot of coaches came to our games to watch,” Angeli said. “Especially, the Michigan State coaches. They came to see all of us play and I think that did help.”
