O’Donnell, Wash heading to DI athletics
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Bridget O’Donnell and Lauren Wash have been asked countless times if they are sisters, and it’s easy to see why people assume it.
Both blonde, O’Donnell is 6-foot-5 and could make anyone look like a little sister. Wash is 5-foot-3, and only gets within a foot of O’Donnell when she puts on ice skates. They live just a couple of houses away from each other in Montgomery and have become the closest of friends.
”I think at one point, my parents considered her more of a daughter than me,” joked O’Donnell. “She’s in my house all the time.”
O’Donnell has logged plenty of time in Wash’s house as well, and they’ve spent plenty of hours in each other’s Red Oak Way driveways, and that’s where the differences stretch beyond height. While Wash practices shooting pucks, O’Donnell shoots hoops.
”We always would try to play each other’s sports,” Wash said. “We would goof around. I suck at basketball. She’s not good at hockey. We’re not good at each other’s sports.”
The two are very good at their own winter sports. The Red Oak Way duo will both compete at the Division I college level next year after graduating this week from Montgomery High School.
O’Donnell has committed to take her basketball talents to the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Retrievers head coach Phil Stern was the America East Coach of the Year in 2011, and UMBC reached the America East championship game last winter in a 17-win season.
”Right now, I’m on a lifting program,” O’Donnell said. “I’m trying to lift and working out to stay in shape. My coaches made it clear that you have to stay in shape. I’m lifting and working out a lot.”
Wash’s ice hockey talents will take her the opposite direction, to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. The Engineers play in the ECAC, where they forged a 6-14-2 record last year.
”The coaches said I would probably play as a freshman,” said Wash, who is a left wing for her New Jersey Rockets club team. “They said they need me. I need to get myself together because I’m playing freshman year.”
O’Donnell has no doubts that Wash can make an immediate impact to help RPI improve. She’s had the chance to see Wash play on a number of occasions, and been impressed every time.
”Even a while ago, I knew,” O’Donnell said. “I know nothing about hockey, but I could tell she was good.
”She has the personality of a hockey player. Once she says she’s a hockey player, you can tell. She’s got that toughness. It’s not a bad thing.”
Wash, too, has seen O’Donnell develop into a Division I athlete in their time at MHS. O’Donnell made steady progress.
”I didn’t know earlier where she’d play,” Wash said. “Junior year, she started talking about recruiting. I didn’t know she would go DI. When she got a DI scholarship, it was really cool.
”I want to know how she’s doing in college and if she’s playing,” she added. “If I have an open weekend, maybe I’ll try to see her play.”
O’Donnell and Wash were going through the same things last year as juniors. They were trying to figure out where they would spend their four years after MHS.
”It was a little stressful,” Wash said. “It was stressful for both of us. Junior year was really busy with school, SATs, playing your sport and checking out where you could go.”
Both plan to follow each other in college. Their only common opponent is Princeton. RPI will travel to Baker Rink on Dec. 1.
”My parents will be there for all her games,” O’Donnell said. “My parents and her are best friends.”
Princeton and UMBC have not yet released the full basketball schedule, but they will play likely before January when each get into their conference schedules. They’ll be following each other’s careers as closely as they can.
”I’ll definitely do that,” O’Donnell said. “For the past six years, we’ve always kept track of each other’s seasons. Going to college is a big deal, so I’ll definitely follow how she’s doing and hear all her stories about her interesting teammates.
”We both play Princeton. That’s the only common thing. I probably won’t get to see her play all that much. We play Albany, which is in the same state (as RPI). We have our schedules and hopefully we can figure something out.”
Their athletic accomplishments in high school were many. In addition to being the top scorer for the Cougar girls basketball team, O’Donnell has played for the New Jersey Demons AAU team that has been ranked in the top 12 in the country. Wash played U19 Tier I travel hockey with her Rockets club that won league and district titles and reached the USA Hockey Nationals as one of the best 12 teams in the country for the last three years. Wash was among the top five scorers at nationals when the Rockets advanced to the quarterfinals in March.
”I always played boys my whole life,” Wash said. “Boys are more fast and talented. Playing with them, it was an advantage. I was used to the fast paced. When I switched over, it was easy. I was used to the pace and I succeeded more.”
Wash joined the Rockets when her family moved to O’Donnell’s street when she was in sixth grade. By then, Wash had already been playing hockey for years in New York.
”I was born in Rochester and I lived there until I was 12,” Wash said. “I played when I was 4. My brother skated, and my dad played. They got me into it.”
Now, seven years after coming to Montgomery, Wash will be heading away to play Division I ice hockey.
”I remember playing for fun,” Wash said. “All my four years, I never thought it would get me that far. All my offers started coming in junior year. Lately, it’s really setting in. I’m going to be playing in college and it’s going to be really cool.”
It’s also a big commitment, which both are starting to grasp. Their breaks will be shorter and their free time less than most college students. There won’t be much time on Red Oak Way together.
”I don’t think we’ll be seeing each other a lot,” O’Donnell said. “We’re both leaving in August, and we won’t see each other on breaks. We signed up for it. We worked for it. It’s Division I so you have to do it.”
Both will be pulling hard for each other to succeed at the next level. They’re spending the next three months getting ready for the jump.
”The way Lauren talked to her coach, she’s confident she’ll be playing a lot as a freshman,” O’Donnell said. “She has the speed and athleticism. For me, it comes down to how much stronger I get. It comes down to the weight room. It depends where I am at the end of the summer.”