Senior Maya Harrington announced her commitment to play field hockey at the collegiate level, pledging to Amherst College, a Division III school, on July 1.

Harrington began playing field hockey for Greenhill in seventh grade and joined club field hockey as a freshman.

Along with Amherst, Harrington was interested in other colleges, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, and Rhodes College. Yet, she set her heart on Amherst after her summer visit.

“I knew I really wanted to go Division III because that was the route I felt like the best fitting for me as a student-athlete, and it’s a really good school academically, so that’s where I wanted to be,” Harrington said.

Amherst’s Field Hockey team has seen a lot of recent success and is currently ranked seventh in the country for National Collegiate Athletics Association Division III Field Hockey.

In addition to athletics, Amherst also offers a great academic fit for Harrington.

“It was a great field hockey fit for me, but Amherst is also a part of a 5-college consortium; you can take classes at the other core schools while you’re at Amherst if they don’t offer the one you want,” Harrington said.

Harrington has high hopes for her upcoming season at Amherst and looks to make a significant impact as one of the six incoming freshmen.

“When I committed, my coach mentioned me playing more of a center-mid role, which is different from what I am playing for my club right now,” Harrington said. “I think we will have a very strong team this year, and I can’t wait to see how it goes.”