By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/3/10
Episcopal Academy rising senior midfielder/defender Claire MacManus has made a verbal commitment to play Division I lacrosse at Cornell University.
MacManus, a three-year starter, helped EA win its sixth straight Inter-Ac League
crown in 2010. She also played on the Philly 2 team at the National Tournament and has been a member of Ultimate Goal 2011 Blue for six years.
At Cornell, she will play for coaches Jenny Graap (West Chester East), Karrie Moore, and Suzie Friedrich. An honors student at EA, MacManus will enter the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to study Biology and Society.
“I chose Cornell because it had the perfect combination of academics and athletics,” she said. “The team and coaches were awesome. When I visited, it seemed to me that all of the students had a purpose within their studies.
“They were not just fulfilling their requirements, but working towards something bigger. Lastly, I felt as though Cornell was ultimately the best fit and the coaches were so supportive of me being a student athlete and also playing soccer there.”
MacManus is the second EA rising senior to commit to a Division I college; midfielder Taylor Trimble committed to Duke in the fall.
In 2010, EA edged out Notre Dame for the crown, winning both games against the Irish by one goal. MacManus is equally optimistic about 2011.
“The 2010 season was very exciting,” MacManus said. “After losing a very talented senior class in 2009, it was awesome to repeat as Inter-Ac champs especially with two one-goal wins over Notre Dame. We definitely will miss our seniors, but I think we will be successful as we return a strong group of motivated players.”
Also a three-year letter winner in basketball and soccer, MacManus will captain those two sports next year for EA. A two-time first-team Inter-Ac pick in soccer, MacManus helped lead the Churchwomen to the Inter-Ac title last season and has led EA in scoring each of the past two seasons. She has also committed to play soccer at Cornell.
