By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/23/11
Upper Dublin rising senior defender Michele DeVincent has made a verbal commitment to play Division 1 lacrosse at California Berkeley.
DeVincent was an Honorable Mention Suburban One American Conference pick this spring when she helped the Cardinals win the league title and advance to the state tournament for the first time. She was a Fist Team pick as a sophomore, but missed half the 2011 season with injuries.
DeVincent plays club lacrosse for Ultimate Goal and is a member of the National Honors Society. She is considering business as a field of study.
“Cal is an awesome school academically, which was a really big factor in my decision,” she said. “I wanted a big school, with big sports and lots of people, and Cal had all of that to offer.
“I fell in love with the campus the first time I visited, and at that time the lacrosse program was cut, but I remember saying that this is the perfect college for me, if only it had lacrosse, and look what happened.”
The school had planned to drop women’s lacrosse and several other varsity sports due to budget woes. But boosters and alumni raised enough money to guarantee enough funds and keep the program alive.
Cal Berkeley went 9-8 in 2011 and is under the direction of recently-hired head coach Ginger Miles, a 2006 Virginia alum.
DeVincent is the second Philly rising senior to pick Cal; good friend and Ultimate Goal teammate Nicole Beck (Hatboro-Horsham) committed several months ago,
DeVincent is the third Cardinal to commit to a Division I college. The others are rising seniors Kelly Cross (Syracuse, midfielder) and Brooke Callahan (Lafayette, attack).
The Cards return nearly their entire lineup for 2012.
“Our team next year has the standards set very high,” she said. “We only lost two seniors and our core of seniors is coming back. We made it to States last year, which was a big deal, and I anticipate that to happen again, and for us to go even go further.”
DeVincent wished to thank Upper Dublin coach Dee Cross, and Ultimate coach Michele DeJuliis for helping her through the recruiting process, as well as her mother, father, sister, and her friends and family for their support.
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