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Kensley Harris STA Class of 2025 Alum in NCAA National Championship Field Hockey Game
Freshman Goalie Kensley Harris and her Newberry College Field Hockey Team lost in the NCAA D2 National Championship game 3-2 in OT. We asked the former Saint (Class of 2025) a few questions about this incredible Journey.
First, the team qualified for the NCAA Tournament with a South Atlantic Conference Title, 3-0 over Lander University. Then they beat Bentley University 4-1 and UPENN Westchester 3-0 in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Shippensburg University 3-2 in National Championship in OT.
1. What was it like to wake up the morning of the national championship game and anticipation?
"It was a bit surreal. This was a game we had been working towards and fighting to reach for almost 4 months, not including the work the returning girls put in during the spring, and suddenly, it was no longer sometime in the future, but in a few hours. It was definitely nerve-wracking, and you could tell it wasn’t just a typical game day. I personally don’t tend to get nervous until right before game time, but when I woke up, even I was anxious for the game to start."
2. Being a part of this team, what will you miss the most?
"I am definitely going to miss all of the seniors. We had a phenomenal group this year, and they played a big role in that. With the level of competition that they brought to all the games, our practices, and the community that they built for us, they shaped this program long before I got there, and I am going to miss them so much in the spring and next season."
3. As a kid, you dream about the NCAA tournament, tell us what it was like going through this journey.
"Being able to go all the way to the National Championship was one of the best experiences I could have ever asked for, especially to be able to do it as a freshman. Again, it felt a bit surreal at times, but I could not have asked for a better group of girls or a better coaching staff to go on the journey with. The amount of support we got as students and athletes both on and off the field from each other, the coaches, our friends, the town, and the faculty at Newberry helped us all so much and we couldn’t have made it that far without that support."
4. Was there a different sense of pride being there and representing a small state like New Hampshire?
"Yes, there was a different sense of pride being there. The majority of the girls in the championship tournament were from the Mid-Atlantic states, which are typically considered the “better” field hockey states and where the best players come from, and there were also a good amount of international players. So, for the two other New Hampshire girls and I, it definitely meant something that we were able to represent such a small and often overlooked state."
5. What would you say or advice you would give to a young STA student who has the same goal you do?
"I would say to surround yourself with people who have the same or very similar goals to you and people who understand what you want and why it means so much. The support and understanding completely makes a much bigger difference than a lot of people expect. It makes missing that birthday party or Friday night football game for a practice that much easier. My second piece of advice is to do the work. You’re going to have to go to practice and to workouts and to games when you don’t want to or don’t feel like it, but you have to put in the work to get the results you want."
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