Lucy Yung – University of California at Santa Cruz Women’s Tennis
Senior Lucy Yung is committed to the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) to play Division III Womens Tennis. While she was initially interested in schools on the East Coast, after visiting a few over spring break, she decided that they were not going to be a good fit for her.
“I ended up telling all the coaches on the East Coast that I didn’t want to go to school there,” Yung said. “They were all private schools and they gave me no financial aid, so it was going to be $90,000 a year. Plus, since they were liberal arts schools, they weren’t great for my major [economics] either.”
Yung has been playing tennis since she was 5 years old. She originally started under the guidance of her older brother, but she began playing more competitively when she was 13. Yung wanted to begin the recruiting process because she felt an obligation to continue her sport.
“I spent all that time working and getting better from ages 5 to 17,” Yung said. “So I was like, ‘It kind of feels like a waste if I don’t go play college tennis.’ But also, I really liked high school tennis and being on a team, so I think college tennis would be really fun.“
Yung’s ultimate decision to commit to UCSC came from the enjoyment she had while playing high school tennis. She values playing in a team environment, and she is looking forward to traveling with the team to matches.
“Santa Cruz was my top option academically,” Yung said. “But also, the fact that I was able to pursue tennis while going there was a definite bonus for me, and it made my decision really easy.”
Tanay Parikh – Carnegie Mellon University Cross Country and Track and Field
Senior Tanay Parikh is committed to do Division III Cross Country and Track and Field at Carnegie Mellon University starting in the fall. After realizing he would be able to continue running in college, Parikh began the recruiting process.
“I really enjoyed running throughout my high school years,” Parikh said. “And since I was pretty good at it, I got the opportunity to continue into college, so I wanted to take advantage of that.”
While he visited other colleges such as CalTech, he ultimately decided on CMU due to the camaraderie of their team. He enjoyed his experience on the MVHS Cross Country and Track and Field teams and wanted to continue running in a similar environment where teammates support and push each other to improve.
In addition to wanting to make the most of his athletic ability, Parikh also opted to play at a DIII institution due to his desire to balance both his academic and athletic life.
“I really liked the campus and the facilities, and the team environment there was really nice,“ Parikh said. “One of the things I’m most looking forward to would be competing at the next level and being able to improve my times, and also to compete in bigger events.”
Gerad Lee – Pitzer Golf
Senior Gerad Lee is committed to play DIII Golf at Pitzer College on the Pomona Pitzer team. He began speaking to colleges about recruitment his sophomore year, eventually deciding on Pitzer due to its good weather and solid program.
“I just really liked the campus itself, the people, and it felt very lively,” Lee said. “All the training facilities and everything looked really nice as well, so that really just brought me in.”
Lee began his recruiting process before June 15 (the day that college coaches can legally get back to the emails from potential recruits) of last year when he started emailing coaches from various schools. He recalls the Pitzer coach’s passion and enthusiasm about the program, saying that it solidified his choice.
“I had a call with the coach where he just talked about the program,” Lee said. “He basically pitched the program to me. I found it really interesting — Pitzer, and the Five C Colleges [Claremont Colleges] in general.”
While he started casually golfing at 5 years old, Lee began to play more competitively in high school. Lee chose to play at a DIII school so that he could prioritize his academics while also competing. He is looking forward to his new teammates and coaches in college.
“For Pitzer in particular, you can take classes anywhere,” Lee said. “I thought that was really important. I really liked the coach and saw how passionate he was, so that made me want to play DIII golf. Golf is usually an individual sport, so playing in that team environment will be really fun.”
Joshua Ang – Case Western Reserve Mens Soccer
Senior Joshua Ang is committed to play on the Mens Soccer team at Case Western Reserve University. Ang began playing soccer when he was 4 years old at a recreational level, but began competing at a higher level when he was in middle school. His passion for soccer ultimately drove his decision to continue playing.
Although Ang began his recruiting process during his sophomore year, an ACL tear injury at the beginning of his senior year severely impacted his process. As a result of his injury, Ang lost contact with many of the coaches he talked to, except for the coach of CWRU.
“Senior year was a pretty hard time because I was already planning on playing collegiately,” Ang said. “I’m grateful that CWRU continued talking with me, and they allowed me to recover while being a part of the team. It showed what type of team they are, and I appreciated the opportunity.”
In addition to the positive team environment, Ang chose to play at CWRU due to their strong academic program and supportive staff. Since he hasn’t been able to play for a while, Ang is looking forward to competing again when he gets to college, since he has spent a few months recovering from his injury already.
“I found my love for the sport again,” Ang said. “I’m really missing it. So I think just getting the opportunity to play is probably what I’ll appreciate the most.”
