By Molly Tow
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/29/11
Ponte Vedra High School (Fl.) rising senior midfielder/face-off specialist Marcus Dunlap, who plays club lacrosse for Twist, has made a verbal commitment to play Division I lacrosse at Bucknell University.
Dunlap led Ponte Vedra to an undefeated season (7-0) in the Florida District-3 Conference and a 19-2 overall mark in 2011. A four-year varsity player and a third-year starter, he paced the team in face-off wins and groundballs.
Dunlap was referred to Twist by Ponte Vedra teammate Brendan Francis, who formerly attended The Hill School.
“Bucknell is big enough so that I do not feel like I know everyone, yet small enough to allow me to have small classes and develop personal relationships with each of my professors,” said Dunlap. “When searching for colleges I knew I wanted to go to school in the Northeast.
“I wanted to get far away from palm trees, sand, humidity, and heat. When I visited Bucknell, I found that I had escaped every one of these characteristics that I was surrounded by in Florida; not to mention the campus is beautiful.”
Dunlap will join a Bucknell team that received its highest national ranking in the program’s history this past season. The Bison was ranked as high as No. 7 in the USILA Coaches’ Poll, and tied for first with most wins in the nation (14). Bucknell suffered a heartbreaking loss to eventual champion Virginia in the first round of the NCAAs in 2011, and is expected to remain a power.
“The program is definitely on the rise and I really look forward to being part of a great team,” said Dunlap.
After bonding with his new teammates and advancing to the State Final Four, Dunlap says 2011 was his best season yet.
“I was new to the school but I knew all of the lacrosse players and coaches because I lived in the area and played club ball with them,” said Dunlap. “The seniors and my junior classmates were very welcoming and I was friends with everyone in no time. As far as the lacrosse season goes, I could not be happier or more proud of my teammates and myself.”
Dunlap also has high hopes for his senior season.
“I want to win the State Championship and I believe that we have a very good shot at it,” said Dunlap. “Secondly, I want to set a good example for the younger kids on the team. I want to leave the freshmen and sophomores thinking, ‘I want to be like that kid on and off the field.’”
Dunlap would like to thank his Twist coaches Greg Flego, Joe Serio, and Jack Devlin.
