By Owen Gotimer
LoCoSports Editor-in-Chief
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Leesburg (September 10, 2015) — Loudoun County High School senior Spencer Shipman has made a commitment to continue his lacrosse career at Christopher Newport University starting in the 2016-2017 school year.
“It’s a great feeling knowing where you are going to school, while other kids my age are stressing about applications and essays,” the 5-foot-9, 145-pound Shipman said. “It gives me a jump start on researching certain majors and programs that CNU has to offer.”
What Shipman can be sure CNU offers is a men’s lacrosse program that has seen steady improvement over the past six years under head coach Todd Boward. In 2015, Boward led the Division III Captains to their best season in school history finishing 11-5 with a 6-2 record in the Capital Athletic Conference.
“I believe I will be able to add a lot of speed, a good work ethic and enthusiasm to the team,” said Shipman who will play midfield for the Captains. “Two of my buddies are also committed to CNU, so together, we will bring a certain style and talent that comes from playing in northern Virginia.”
Shipman – along with his fellow class of 2016 commits – will join Broad Run graduate Will Ervin (2014), Dominion graduates Andrew Ashley (2014) and Nick Kirschke (2013) and Freedom graduate Will Walter (2014) in Newport News in the spring of 2016.
With the popularity of CNU growing – especially among high school student-athletes in LoCo – Shipman might get to show off the Captains’ campus and athletic facilities to future LCPS commits in his near future.
“I chose CNU as my future school because of the academic reputation, the state of the art facilities and the outstanding coaching staff,” Shipman said. “The school is on the rise, and I am excited to be able to experience the growth and development of this school.”
Boys Lacrosse: @LCHSRaiderRiot junior @Spencer_Ship05 has made an early verbal commitment to D3 Christopher Newport #LoCoCollegeCommit
— LoCoSports (@LoCoSports) June 4, 2015
During the early stages of his lacrosse development, Shipman felt doubt from people around him, but decided to stick with the sport he chose over basketball and football.
“A lot of kids around me started making the switch to lacrosse because of the fast pace and physical contact. Lacrosse is a mixture of many different sports when it comes to rules and everything, so it felt natural, and ever since my first season, I stuck with it,” said Shipman who also plays for the Cavalier Lacrosse Club. “Things were rough my first few years of playing and a lot of people doubted me, so I felt the need to prove to people — and myself — that I could play at the college level.”
Before getting the opportunity to step foot on a collegiate lacrosse field, Shipman will suit up for one final season at Loudoun County.
In 2015, Shipman and head coach Dave Colangelo helped lead the Raiders to a 7-7 finish including a 4-3 mark in the Dulles Group before falling to eventual VHSL 4A state champion Loudoun Valley in a group semifinal.
“My expectations for our program this year are very high. Even though we have lost major contributors the past few years, we have a lot of talented guys still here and many kids who have worked hard to earn a varsity spot,” Shipman said. “Coach Colangelo has brought a tremendous amount of knowledge to our program in his three years here and has also taught us to respect the game, our teammates and other opponents. I am looking forward to seeing how our team competes this spring.”
