Hess headed to Richmond

Hannah Hess knew she was going to be playing Division One field hockey somewhere next year. She just had a tough time deciding where that would be.

But now that the decision has been made, the Ephrata senior says her decision to attend the University of Richmond on a field hockey scholarship was the best one she could have made.

"It has worked out better than I could ever have imagined," she said recently. "I feel lucky to be 100 percent into the school that I'm going to because I know what it's like to feel unsure of your decision. For me to jump back into it and to just be completely happy and thrilled where I'm going is a good feeling."

Jump back into it she did at the 11th hour when she did an about face and de-committed to Virginia just two days before the official signing day. Hess, who also considered Maryland, William & Mary and Penn State, said something just didn't feel right about UVa.

"I got sort of nervous about it I guess," she said of attending Virginia. "I was just feeling unsure of my decision and the night before the actual signing day I told them I wasn't coming and sort of got tossed back into the whole process again. Then I went to a tournament in Florida and Richmond just got a new head coach (Gina Lucido) and she had recruited me when she was the assistant at Indiana. She heard I was back on the market and she needed to pick up a whole entire new class for Richmond. It's funny how it worked out because it actually worked out perfectly. I just loved Richmond from the first time I went there."

"(The University of Virginia) is a great place and I'm sure the people who go there love it. But something just wasn't clicking. I just couldn't get a good feel for it."

In the end, Richmond and Hess seem like a perfect fit.

For one, she'll feel at home there with a total of four ex-L-L League players on the roster, including Cocalico's Becky White and several of her club teammates.

Secondly, she's joining a program that is a perennial top 20 team and one that has advanced to the NCAA Tournament the last five campaigns.

And finally, it is a place where she and Coach Lucido feels she can step right in and play.

"(Coach Lucido) told me that I will be an impact player probably early on, which is real exciting because the other schools I was looking at I didn't expect that. It just sort of happened to be the perfect situation for me."

Hannah Hess working her way through traffic. © Photo courtesy of Andy Babin.

Hess, who was named to the All-State Team this past year, was a three-time L-L All-Star and twice participated in the National Futures Tournament. She was selected to the All-State Academic Team which is given to players who possess a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

As far as academics are concerned, Hess is leaning toward Pre-Med but is intrigued by Richmond's Leadership program, the only school in the country that offers such a major.

Either way, the Ephrata senior says she knows she made the right decision.

"The campus is beautiful. You couldn't ask for a prettier place to spend your time," she said. "I had thought Virginia was a real beautiful campus but Richmond just blows it out of the water. It's actually the perfect place for me."