RADNOR — Farewells never really interested the devoted players finishing this final season of sports at revered Cabrini University, which in a few months will become Villanova West.
To many, including the opponents, it’s hard to believe that Cabrini and its successful sports programs will no longer be part of the schedule.
Five years ago, Cabrini was at the top of the Division III sports world, with the men’s lacrosse team winning the NCAA national championship at Lincoln Financial Field against an opponent from Amherst with twice the enrollment.
Towards the end of June, the Villanova signs will begin to appear on campus as the small college and its beautiful grounds were acquired by its neighboring university. The clock is ticking for the Cabrini men’s and women’s lacrosse and baseball teams, who were all in action during the weekend tournament. The campus, which one student-athlete described as “a ghost town,” has already seen several students and athletes leave, and the point of no return is approaching more than ever before.
“It’s like a nun here at Cabrini said, ‘We’re smiling on the outside, crying on the inside,’” said Jackie Neary, who has coached women’s lacrosse and field hockey for 28 years at Cabrini. “That’s what we’re doing. You’re trying to be very stoic and it’s hard, it’s tough. During my long walk today, going through my head was how are we going to manage the emotions of our girls this weekend? Every year you’re either going to win or it’s the end, one or the other. I just want to make sure that there’s not too much weight put on the end this time. We talked about the elephant in the room. Now the elephant is bigger than the room. So that’s going to be one of my big coaching talks. I just want them to be prepared. I want them to take a deep breath. I do this every year but this year there’s just so much more weight to it.”
The ultimate competitor and healer, Neary dabbed her eyes with a tissue while being interviewed.
The Dear John letter Cabrini students received last June in the form of an announcement that the place was being sold to Villanova and the severance package, should they accept it, basically would be one more year of school/athletics or a transfer. It was something few 18-, 19-, 20- or 21-year-olds are equipped to deal with. The career guidance offered by Cabrini administrators, coaches and staff helped many get through it.
What was quietly spectacular was so many Cabrini student-athletes fought through basically a suspended sentence with their coaches, who fought through feelings they’d never felt. I stayed, is the way athletes and coached put it, for one last go-round.
Make no mistake, for the student-athletes, the announcement was a sucker punch. Athletes don’t transfer these days without the lever