Seven Batavia student-athletes
sign up for college soccer
Five girls signees could mean good things for Bulldogs this spring
By Chris Walker
Batavia -- You can’t use your hands to play soccer, but you can use them to hold a large red poster that includes your name and where you’re going to play next year.
There were seven Batavia soccer players who participated in a National Signing Day event Wednesday afternoon at Batavia High School. The group posed for plenty of pictures, including a group shot with the posters that showed the schools that will welcome a Bulldog alum next season.
“We’ve always had kids move on to the next level, but now with me doing both programs, and having seven kids total, I thought it would be nice to do something like this,” Batavia boys and girls coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “It’s a quality group of kids who have been nice to coach, and hopefully I’ll be able to get out to see them continue playing.”
Olivia Callipari was one of five girls to sign. She’ll play at Lindenwood University (St. Charles, Mo.).
She always assumed she’d move on the next level -- soccer runs deep in her family. Older brother Cam starred at Batavia while her father Guy, is the boys and girls coach at Wheaton Warrenville South.
“It’s always been in my mind,” she said. “I went to a lot of college showcases and took a list of coaches and did some research. I liked what I saw when I visited and just loved the campus. It had everything I could want in a school.”
Ali Grimm also always had her mind set on playing in college. She found DePauw University (Greencastle, Ind.) to her liking.
“I think going all the way back to seventh grade I’ve had college in my mind,” she said. “I also wanted to find a school with great academics. I visited in the summer and fell in the love with the campus.”
She attended an ID camp on campus, met her future coach and then everything else fell into place.
“It’s really everything I could ask for,” she said. “I plan on studying economics and becoming a business manager or something along those lines.”
Similar to Grimm, Tori Renfus also found love in the summer when she visited St. Norbert College (De Pere, Wis.) and attended an ID camp.
“I loved the atmosphere on campus and did well with an ID camp,” she said. “I emailed the coach and that got everything started.”
Karina Rosales admits that the recruitment process is long and difficult, but well worth it in the end.
“A lot of people make a decision after they get their first offer,” she said. “I didn’t do that. I wanted to love the school before anything else.”
It took some time, but ultimately she found Wisconsin-Whitewater to be an ideal fit.
“I talked to some bigger schools and some D2 schools. They were good, decent programs but I didn’t fit in or didn’t like the environment and campus,” she said. "I just loved Whitewater. It’s D3, but I love it. The campus is amazing and the soccer program is very good.”
Kayla Stolfa attended a showcase at the Sport Zone Bubble in Aurora and caught the eye of Eastern Illinois.
“Usually coaches go to these things with a list of players in mind, but he (head coach Jason Cherry) didn’t do that. He wanted to see whoever caught his eye, and apparently I caught his eye.
“He emailed me and asked me to come down for a visit. I did that and a few weeks later, he offered me, so it was good.”
With five signees, expectations are pretty high this spring for the girls team.
“We’re very excited. We’ve been working hard this off-season and think we can achieve a lot more than we did last season,” Rosales said. “We weren’t bad last year, but I think we could’ve done more than we did, so we’re training hard now.”
Callipari agrees.
“We have a lot of confidence in ourselves this year and hope to go further than last year,” she said. “I don’t think our confidence was there last year, but it is now. I think we also have a better bond and can hopefully pull something out.”
There’s also some relief since they’ve wrapped up their plans already for next fall.
“It’s nice to know where I’m going to college now and have that all set,” Renfus said. “Now we’ve got one last season with friends in high school which is exciting and also bittersweet.”
With piles of snow outside, the spring season may feel a long way away, but it isn’t.
“I cannot wait for spring,” Grimm said. “We have high hopes for the season and want to make this last year count. Many of us have been playing since kindergarten so we want to make it one of the best years yet.”
Two of the leaders of last fall’s Batavia (19-3-3) boys team that won a regional championship and advanced to a sectional final, also signed on Wednesday.
Nick Konopacki is heading to Wisconsin-Platteville.
“I started off with a broad search knowing that I wanted to go into engineering,” he said. “I liked the campus and what they had so I emailed the coach.”
Luckily, the coach’s club team played Konopacki’s club team so the two had a chance to socialize.
“It was an easy way to get in front of him,” he said. “Then I went to a summer camp there and heard a lot of good things so that really convinced me.”
Last but not least, Ian Larson signed to play at Duquesne University (Pittsburgh).
“It feels great to be a part of a new family,” he said. “I’m ready for a new challenge.”
Larson isn't worried about homesickness.
“I have an aunt and some of my mom’s cousins there,” he said. “They’re going to take me to dinner a few times a week to get used to the city before schools starts, so that will be nice.”
It’s going to be equally challenging for Larson’s parents, since he’s an only child. His dad, Gary, was a fixture at all the games the past few years.
“It’s going to be a lot harder for them with me being an only child,” he said. “But it’s only a seven-hour drive and about an hour flight so they should be able to come for a few weekends a year and to some away games.”
Larson scored 25 goals and had 16 assists in the fall as he put together one of the finest seasons in Batavia history. Now he’ll see if he can continue that success at a much higher level while also balancing his studies.
“I’ve been pretty busy with soccer and school for a longtime now,” Larson said. “I know how to balance a busy schedule, but it’ll be different being away from my parents while in a new enviornment and in a new city, but I think I’ll get used to it over time.”
Gianfrancesco also has a difficult schedule to balance. While coaching two teams is tough enough, now he’ll have at least seven more kids in college who he’ll keep an eye on.
“It’s a great problem to have,” he said. “With the media stuff and the streaming, it’s a lot easier. I found out Duquesne is streaming their games and you can use Apple TV and watch actual games, which is awesome.”
Also he’ll still get to see the impact these kids have made on the juniors and underclassmen.
“They’re all such great kids,” he said. “They definitely have passed on a lot of stuff to the younger group.”
sign up for college soccer
Five girls signees could mean good things for Bulldogs this spring
By Chris Walker
Batavia -- You can’t use your hands to play soccer, but you can use them to hold a large red poster that includes your name and where you’re going to play next year.
There were seven Batavia soccer players who participated in a National Signing Day event Wednesday afternoon at Batavia High School. The group posed for plenty of pictures, including a group shot with the posters that showed the schools that will welcome a Bulldog alum next season.
“We’ve always had kids move on to the next level, but now with me doing both programs, and having seven kids total, I thought it would be nice to do something like this,” Batavia boys and girls coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “It’s a quality group of kids who have been nice to coach, and hopefully I’ll be able to get out to see them continue playing.”
Olivia Callipari was one of five girls to sign. She’ll play at Lindenwood University (St. Charles, Mo.).
She always assumed she’d move on the next level -- soccer runs deep in her family. Older brother Cam starred at Batavia while her father Guy, is the boys and girls coach at Wheaton Warrenville South.
“It’s always been in my mind,” she said. “I went to a lot of college showcases and took a list of coaches and did some research. I liked what I saw when I visited and just loved the campus. It had everything I could want in a school.”
Ali Grimm also always had her mind set on playing in college. She found DePauw University (Greencastle, Ind.) to her liking.
“I think going all the way back to seventh grade I’ve had college in my mind,” she said. “I also wanted to find a school with great academics. I visited in the summer and fell in the love with the campus.”
She attended an ID camp on campus, met her future coach and then everything else fell into place.
“It’s really everything I could ask for,” she said. “I plan on studying economics and becoming a business manager or something along those lines.”
Similar to Grimm, Tori Renfus also found love in the summer when she visited St. Norbert College (De Pere, Wis.) and attended an ID camp.
“I loved the atmosphere on campus and did well with an ID camp,” she said. “I emailed the coach and that got everything started.”
Karina Rosales admits that the recruitment process is long and difficult, but well worth it in the end.
“A lot of people make a decision after they get their first offer,” she said. “I didn’t do that. I wanted to love the school before anything else.”
It took some time, but ultimately she found Wisconsin-Whitewater to be an ideal fit.
“I talked to some bigger schools and some D2 schools. They were good, decent programs but I didn’t fit in or didn’t like the environment and campus,” she said. "I just loved Whitewater. It’s D3, but I love it. The campus is amazing and the soccer program is very good.”
Kayla Stolfa attended a showcase at the Sport Zone Bubble in Aurora and caught the eye of Eastern Illinois.
“Usually coaches go to these things with a list of players in mind, but he (head coach Jason Cherry) didn’t do that. He wanted to see whoever caught his eye, and apparently I caught his eye.
“He emailed me and asked me to come down for a visit. I did that and a few weeks later, he offered me, so it was good.”
With five signees, expectations are pretty high this spring for the girls team.
“We’re very excited. We’ve been working hard this off-season and think we can achieve a lot more than we did last season,” Rosales said. “We weren’t bad last year, but I think we could’ve done more than we did, so we’re training hard now.”
Callipari agrees.
“We have a lot of confidence in ourselves this year and hope to go further than last year,” she said. “I don’t think our confidence was there last year, but it is now. I think we also have a better bond and can hopefully pull something out.”
There’s also some relief since they’ve wrapped up their plans already for next fall.
“It’s nice to know where I’m going to college now and have that all set,” Renfus said. “Now we’ve got one last season with friends in high school which is exciting and also bittersweet.”
With piles of snow outside, the spring season may feel a long way away, but it isn’t.
“I cannot wait for spring,” Grimm said. “We have high hopes for the season and want to make this last year count. Many of us have been playing since kindergarten so we want to make it one of the best years yet.”
Two of the leaders of last fall’s Batavia (19-3-3) boys team that won a regional championship and advanced to a sectional final, also signed on Wednesday.
Nick Konopacki is heading to Wisconsin-Platteville.
“I started off with a broad search knowing that I wanted to go into engineering,” he said. “I liked the campus and what they had so I emailed the coach.”
Luckily, the coach’s club team played Konopacki’s club team so the two had a chance to socialize.
“It was an easy way to get in front of him,” he said. “Then I went to a summer camp there and heard a lot of good things so that really convinced me.”
Last but not least, Ian Larson signed to play at Duquesne University (Pittsburgh).
“It feels great to be a part of a new family,” he said. “I’m ready for a new challenge.”
Larson isn't worried about homesickness.
“I have an aunt and some of my mom’s cousins there,” he said. “They’re going to take me to dinner a few times a week to get used to the city before schools starts, so that will be nice.”
It’s going to be equally challenging for Larson’s parents, since he’s an only child. His dad, Gary, was a fixture at all the games the past few years.
“It’s going to be a lot harder for them with me being an only child,” he said. “But it’s only a seven-hour drive and about an hour flight so they should be able to come for a few weekends a year and to some away games.”
Larson scored 25 goals and had 16 assists in the fall as he put together one of the finest seasons in Batavia history. Now he’ll see if he can continue that success at a much higher level while also balancing his studies.
“I’ve been pretty busy with soccer and school for a longtime now,” Larson said. “I know how to balance a busy schedule, but it’ll be different being away from my parents while in a new enviornment and in a new city, but I think I’ll get used to it over time.”
Gianfrancesco also has a difficult schedule to balance. While coaching two teams is tough enough, now he’ll have at least seven more kids in college who he’ll keep an eye on.
“It’s a great problem to have,” he said. “With the media stuff and the streaming, it’s a lot easier. I found out Duquesne is streaming their games and you can use Apple TV and watch actual games, which is awesome.”
Also he’ll still get to see the impact these kids have made on the juniors and underclassmen.
“They’re all such great kids,” he said. “They definitely have passed on a lot of stuff to the younger group.”