Four Fort Mill High athletes signed to play college athletics in the school’s first signing day of the academic year.
Volleyball players Rachel Hall and Katelyn Rutledge signed at two different schools. Lacrosse player Emery Dove and soccer player Lauren Hardy also signed to play their respective sports.
Hall will be attending Ferrum College in Virginia, a Division III school. A setter on the varsity team for the past couple of seasons, Hall finished her senior season with 507 assists, 24 aces and was third in digs with 258 for the Jackets. She will be majoring in psychology.
“I really liked the atmosphere on campus,” Hall said.
Rutledge, who will be majoring in finance, will be heading to Bentley University in Massachusetts. She has played for four years for the varsity volleyball team at Fort Mill. She was an All-Region and team offensive player of the year this season. This past season she had 198 kills to lead the team and had a .320 hitting percentage.
“The school fit my academic and athletic needs perfectly,” she said.
Fort Mill head volleyball coach Makala McCrorey said she was proud of both of her players.
“I am very excited for both of them,” she said. “They will thrive at the universities they have decided to attend.”
Hardy will be majoring in marketing at the University of West Georgia where she will be playing soccer. She is a four-year member of the program and led the team last season with 11 goals. The school is in Carrollton, Ga.
“I fell in love with the atmosphere at the school,” she said.
Dove will be playing lacrosse at Tusculum University in Tennessee, where she will be majoring in accounting. She has been playing lacrosse since the seventh grade with Fort Mill. She is a former All-Region player and has been second team All-State as a goalie for the Jackets.
“I chose the school because I loved the coaches and team atmosphere,” she said.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
