Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School’s Signing Day commenced on Nov. 13 at 10:00 am. Three hard working seniors were commemorated for their commitments to playing sports in college. Juliana Doran will be going off to the University of California–Berkeley to play Division I women’s lacrosse. Ryan Mauer has signed to The New Jersey Institute of Technology to play men’s lacrosse at the Division I level. Lastly, Samantha Friscia has committed to West Chester University to play Division II softball. Signing Day was spent congratulating these athletes and giving them the appreciation they deserve for all their accomplishments.
The ceremony started off with Athletic Director Dr. Ryan D. Miller saying a few words about the students and congratulating them on this amazing new chapter in their athletic careers. Through his words, his admiration for these athletes really showed.
“[Today] means a lot because it shows that regardless of how strong our teams are, individual athletes can still get honored and can still move from high school to college. We can have individual athletes who can rise strong and beyond,” Miller said.
This is very much true for Signing Day’s three athletes. For Doran, some of her accomplishments through her time playing high school lacrosse include scoring 178 goals, 206 points and 28 assists. Friscia has been named team captain of this year’s girls softball team. Mauer has been on varsity since freshman year and was a member of the 2022 championship lacrosse team. All of this hard work and dedication to the sport that they love is what got these students to where they are today.
“Work as hard as you can, don’t make excuses–it’s not going to get you very far. If you really want to pursue [playing a sport in college], give it everything,” Doran said.
These athletes did everything but make excuses. The event continued with all three of their coaches giving a few words about all their athlete’s hard work and impact on their teams. As each athlete sat at the table with a pen in hand to “sign” off to the college they were committing to, loved ones watched. Parents, siblings, grandparents, friends and coaches all came together to support their student. With all the long hours Doran, Mauer and Friscia have put in on the field and out, the work has finally paid off.
“It doesn’t feel real yet. I mean, I’ve gotten the acceptance and everything, so it’s starting to click a little more. I’m just really excited to start up in the fall and just see how everything goes,” Friscia told The Fanscotian.
