Marygrace DelliSanti dreamt of playing lacrosse in college and did everything in her power to make that goal a reality. If anybody doubted her, she used that fuel to keep her fire going.
This fall, DelliSanti, a senior at Greens Farms Academy, committed to play at Gettysburg College, one of the best Division 3 programs in the country, where the Bullets have won two of the last three NCAA championships.
“It was a very surreal moment,” DelliSanti said of the day she committed to play at Gettysburg.
Once she had firmly established her goal of playing at the next level, DelliSanti put in the extra work to make it all happen—not just working on her skills but also her overall athletic prowess.
“I started getting really serious and went to camps and clinics,” she said. “Every single weekend I was away playing, sometimes driving six hours away.”
She started attending showcases, as well, where college coaches converge on fields to watch players compete.
“I had narrowed my choices down to about 10 schools when the Gettysburg coach approached me and told me she had been watching me for two years and wanted me to go to her school,” DelliSanti said. “They weren’t even on my radar.”
The coach even saw her play at a small clinic up at Tufts University.
“I didn’t even see her there, but she saw me,” DelliSanti said. “It made me realize that through the whole recruiting process, somebody is always watching.”
DelliSanti continued to do her due diligence in checking out the schools that were on her list, visiting a number of NESCAC schools along the way.
Once she visited Gettysburg, though, she found a home.
“I loved it,” DelliSanti said. “Their whole team was so nice, and I got along so well with all the other recruits, too. We were all strangers, but it was so easy to talk to all of them. After that I knew I could see myself there. That’s why I chose it.”
Landing with one of the best teams in the country still leaves DelliSanti in awe.
“It’s crazy to think that a coach of that caliber, of that team, would be interested in me,” she said.
GFA girls lacrosse coach Ciara Thurlow said DelliSanti’s road to Gettysburg was paved by her own efforts to get better.
“She is the kid who was at the field every day training on her own,” Thurlow said. “Her passion and her work-ethic is authentic and she thrives on challenges. You can’t stop a kid who won’t give up and MG will never give up.”
A three-sport athlete at GFA — DelliSanti also plays soccer and basketball — she’s also excited at the prospect of being a multi-sport athlete at Gettsysburg.
In addition to her more traditional sports, she also rides horses and competes in equestrian events—something she hopes to also do at Gettysburg.
While at Gettysburg, she hopes to major in biology and minor in environmental sciences in hopes of going to veterinarian school after graduation.