AMHERST — Maeve McNamara never misses an opportunity to pursue her passions. Whether she is traveling the world or juggling her responsibilities as a student athlete at Amherst College, McNamara always finds a way to do what she loves.
“One of the reasons why I’ve had such an amazing experience at Amherst is I have made absolutely zero compromises in terms of pursuing what it is that I love,” McNamara said.
McNamara is a two-sport senior captain in soccer and basketball who also studies film studies and biology. When she graduates she plans to attend medical school.
McNamara’s commitment to all her passions is apparent, especially when they all intersect. The women’s soccer team reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament before falling to William Smith in the Sweet 16. Meanwhile, McNamara attended classes and practices for both sports throughout both weeks, trying to exert her senior leadership on the basketball team as they prepared for the season.
“Sometimes it’s hard to switch the parts of my brain whether it’s on the court, the field, in the lab, or the editing lab,” McNamara said. “But I guess I’m trying to continue that sport and delay having to decide between anything anytime soon.”
The teams McNamara has been a part of at Amherst College have had great success. Over the last three years, McNamara has experienced four NESCAC titles, seven NCAA tournament appearances and two undefeated nationalchampionship seasons between the two sports. The opportunity to be a part of these teams was big reason why McNamara ended up choosing Amherst in her recruiting process.
Jay McNamara, Marve’s father, said when she made it clear she wanted to do both sports, it narrowed the list of schools down that would allow her to do so. Amherst was the only school Maeve felt she could compete in both sports at a championship level.
“The thing about Amherst is she wanted to go to a great place where she could do both soccer and basketball,” Jay McNamara said. “We couldn’t be happier for her experience and what she’s brought to and got out of Amherst.”
Amherst women’s basketball head coach G.P. Gromacki feels just as fortunate to have had McNamara be a part of his team for the past four seasons.
McNamara has started 15 of 18 games for the Mammoths (17-2, 4-1 NESCAC). She averages 5.6 points, 3.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.
“She’s a two-sport athlete here and what a talent to get to Amherst. One of the best athletes I’ve ever coached here,” Gromacki said. “We were really happy to get her and she’s trying to finish it out and we’re going to be sad when she leaves. Just a tremendous person on and off the court and I can’t say enough about her.”
Those close to Maeve will tell you she hasn’t just stumbled into this success. Years of hard work have earned McNamara the opportunity to pursue her passions.
“The thing that has stayed static with Maeve throughout the time that I’ve known her is her grit,” said longtime friend Julia Griffin. “We always used to joke with her that she was always belly flopping on the court because she would always throw her body for every play. Just doing things that no one else would.”
McNamara’s willingness to do whatever it takes doesn’t stop on the playing field. Besides traveling to Ecuador, she spent time in Italy to further her studies in biology.
The trip to Italy was part of Amherst College’s program on the ecology of infectious disease that involves studying populations in alpine regions. These trips often involve a lot of physical activity and hours of hiking. McNamara’s biology advisor and research mentor, Michael Hood, said she was a natural fit for the research project.
“I thought that Maeve would be a great person to be involved with that because she has a tremendous amount of energy and she also takes what she is doing seriously,” Hood said. “She maintains a very positive outlook on things and is easy going, so it’s true she was perfect in the field.”
Hood said McNamara was one of only a few students in a dozen years that have been able to achieve at this high of a level with all other activities she does.
“Honestly, I don’t know how she does it,” Hood said. “I don’t know students like that are able to find the energy and the time to achieve all of that. I haven’t seen any real limitations on what she can do.”