Sports on the meadow Signing Day celebration Committed seniors reflect upon past, college careers

By Anjy Fadairo | Staff Writer

For Senior Alexandra Weinmeister, who will be playing D3 soccer this fall, the journey to signing day started in seventh grade.

“My team started going to college showcases,” Weinmeister said, “and I honestly wasn’t really sure if I wanted to play soccer in college so I wasn’t as intense on emailing.”

Years of hard work and dedication later, however, Weinmeister is committed to Washington University in St. Louis.

Like Weinmeister, other student-athletes have been working towards one goal for the past several years: collegiate commitment.

As the school year draws to a close, 14 seniors have committed to continue their sports at the collegiate level. The school celebrated them on signing day.

Assistant Head of Athletics Jennifer Johnson said Hockaday started celebrating its own signing day years ago.

“We used to have individual signing days for each person with their friends and family, but back then, our numbers were not nearly as high as they are now,” Johnson said. “The students really liked celebrating as a group, so we morphed it into one big signing day for everyone.”

For Senior Victoria Li, who will be fencing at D3 Johns Hopkins this fall, getting to the signing day platform was a result of the time and effort she poured into her sport.

“I’ve been fencing since fifth grade, so I’ve grown to really like the sport a lot,” Li said. “Throughout that time, my parents and I realized it would help with my college experience as well, because I get to travel a lot and for free.”

Weinmeister noted that after her first few years of high school, she became increasingly interested in playing soccer for a college. When the COVID-19 pandemic started during her freshman year, Weinmeister began putting in extra work for recruitment.

“It was very difficult to get exposure, but I did all the work with my video highlights, and I would email coaches,” Weinmeister said. “Then they would come see me at showcases, and it was just a lot of being patient.”

Senior Lauren Roach, who will be playing D1 lacrosse at the University of Louisville, initially struggled with how early the process began for her.

“It’s a really difficult process,” Roach said. “It’s scary. You go into it earlier than most people go into the college process, so you go into with a lot less knowledge about what kind of college you’re looking for.”

Weinmeister said her journey to signing day has taught her lessons about herself and her life.

“You can do anything as long as you put in the work,” Weinmeister said, “but the end goal is very rewarding if you continue to put in the time.”

Because athletes don’t always know which institution they’ll commit to by national signing day Nov. 9, Hockaday athletics hosts its signing day in the spring instead of in the fall or winter.

“It’s unique that we do it a little bit later, just to make sure,” Johnson said. “I think it’s special to have had as many seniors as we can get to get a really, really good crowd to support each other.”

Also, Hockaday makes sure to include its Division 3 athletes in the signing day festivities even though the commitment processes for Division 1 and 2 athletes differ from those of Division 3 athletes.

After years of hard work, Roach said she looks forward to finally taking part in signing day.

“I’ve always watched all the older girls on my team have their signing days, and it’s such a big, exciting moment,” Roach said, “Now it’s crazy to think that it’s actually finally my turn to do that.”

While Li said she is excited about the next chapter of her career and celebrating her fellow signees, she’s also thrilled about the signing day festivities.

“Fencing wise, I’m hoping to continue getting better at college, but I’m just really excited about signing day,” Li said, “and the cookies.”