The end of the fall sports season is shortly approaching, and some seniors have reflected back on the many memories they have made over their past few years at Cabrini.
“It’s a weird feeling knowing that, after this season, I won’t participate in another competitive collegiate game,” Amanda Ribakusky, senior defensive back, said.
Playing soccer since she was 9 years old, Ribakusky spoke openly about the difficult transition she will have to make once the season comes to a close.
“I’ll definitely miss seeing the team every day at practices and in games, and I may join a team back at home if there are any, but if I do, I know it won’t be the same as playing here,” Ribakusky said.
This seemed to be the general consensus among a majority of the senior athletes who will be retiring their uniforms for the final time this fall.
“I am extremely sad that, not only is the season ending, but my career as a volleyball player has ended. I’m happy that I got to go out with such a great group of girls. We have had so much fun this year and I love them all,” Lizzie Williams, senior volleyball setter, said.
Williams, who has been playing volleyball since the fourth grade, also spoke of some fond memories that she and her teammates had shared together.
“The best memories of the team have to be when we are just goofing around, usually quoting movies or telling stories that make us laugh until we are crying. For example, we were on a bus which is like two and a half hours away and Traci got up and delivered ‘The Hangover’ speech over the mic on the bus; we all were crying from laughing so hard,” Williams said.
One particular player spoke of his proudest and most paramount moment of playing on the men’s soccer team.
“My best memory of being on the team is making a trip to the NCAA tournament last year. I hope we can get back there this year,” Brian Moran, senior defensive center mid-fielder, said.
Lynda Kaufmann said that she is disappointed she did not join the Cabrini women’s field hockey and lacrosse teams earlier.
“I transferred here last year, and I wish I would have done it sooner. It is disappointing that I will have to leave both teams and head coach Jackie Neary after this year. It doesn’t seem that I got enough time to play with these girls,” Kaufmann said.
Currently, Cabrini athletics are in the playoff stages of their seasons. In the next two to three weeks, these teams will hang up their uniforms until next year. For some, these last few games will be the last that they ever play.
These seniors, who started out as young freshmen looking to prove themselves as worthy teammates to their superiors, are now saying goodbye to the friends that have slowly turned into family.
“On the field, we had an unbelievable nine game shutout streak, and we’ve beaten teams we lost to in the past, which is always a great feeling. Off the field, we’ve become a family. We do almost everything together and we always have a fun time hanging out with each other,” Ribakusky said. “It’s difficult to realize that this is it, and you can’t go back.”
