Sophia Hitchingham ’25 is a forward on the field hockey team from Yardley, PA. The senior captain has been an essential part of the team, leading the Garnet to two conference semifinals and the championship last year. Hitchingham has also helped the team to a current second-place ranking in the conference standings above No. 11 Bryn Mawr College and No. 18 Ursinus College. The No. 24 Garnet are just below No. 5 Johns Hopkins, who share Swarthmore’s 7-1 conference record and fell to the Garnet on Saturday. Hitchingham currently has twelve points on the season with five goals and two assists putting her career points at a total of 44. Throughout her four years, Hitchingham has played 71 games and started 54 of them. The 2023 All-Centennial Second Team pick currently stands in the top four for shots on goal in the conference and top twenty for goals scored. Hitchingham has demonstrated tremendous growth throughout the years, from scoring one goal her first year, to accumulating ten points her sophomore year, to doubling those points in her junior year. Last season, Hitchingham also picked up a National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-Region second team selection, her second NFHCA Scholar of Distinction award, and a selection to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. This year is sure to hold more awards in store for the proven leader and player. The Garnet play their last conference game this Saturday, Nov. 2 against Haverford College before the postseason begins.
Abby Chang: How did you feel about the wins against No. 5 Johns Hopkins and Franklin and Marshall this past week?
Sophia Hitchingham: I feel super proud of the team and excited about the implications for the postseason! Every single person on the team has put in so much work throughout the regular season, during preseason, over the summer, and building off of last year, and it is so fun seeing it pay off during an incredibly important part of the season.
AC: Do you have any pre-game or post-game rituals?
SH: I always braid Julia Powell [’27]’s ponytail before games and wear the same pair of Hocsox! Otherwise, I just spend time and get ready with my teammates in the locker room before the game.
AC: Why did you decide to play field hockey?
SH: I learned the basic rules of field hockey in my sixth-grade gym class, so when a couple of my friends said they were going to do clinics with the high school team that spring and summer, I decided to also!
AC: Why did you choose Swarthmore? What is your area of study?
SH: I am a mathematics/statistics major with minors in linguistics and psychology. As cliche as it sounds, I chose Swarthmore because of the people and the community. I love how, even though Swarthmore is academically rigorous and high achieving, the students here want to succeed alongside their peers not only as individuals. This is definitely true on the academic side of things, but I also see it on the field hockey team and in athletics more generally.
AC: What is your favorite class that you’ve taken at Swarthmore?
SH: My favorite class I have taken is Semantics with [former Visiting Assistant] Professor Maura O’Leary! I loved the focus on logic and implicit meanings associated with language. Professor O’Leary also gave us the freedom to take the class in directions that interested us as a class and as individuals through discussions and midterm and final projects, which I appreciated!
AC: How has being a student athlete impacted your experience at Swarthmore?
SH: Being a student athlete has encouraged me to take advantage of every part of the Swarthmore experience I am able to. The moment I stepped on campus, I had upperclassmen I could go to for advice on what classes I should take, clubs I should join, and resources I should take advantage of. My teammates have a lot of very different interests and are involved in a lot of different activities that they are more than willing to talk about with all of us, which has helped me branch outside of my comfort zone.
AC: What have been some of your favorite memories with the team over the past four years?
SH: The little moments in the locker room before practices, on bus rides, and during water breaks are my favorites. We also did a team trip to Ireland the summer after my sophomore year, which was a really cool experience. We have done a number of overnight trips for games, most recently an overnight trip to Gettysburg. We did a scavenger hunt around historic Gettysburg before that game, which definitely had varying levels of success but everyone still had a lot of fun!
AC: What is something on your bucket list that you hope to do before you graduate?
SH: I want to try and go into Philly more this spring! My friends are big Philly sports fans, so I think it would be fun to go to games with them.
AC: What are your plans for after graduation?
SH: I am planning to work in consulting but am still working through the specifics for that!
AC: Do you have any advice for underclassmen?
SH: Enjoy the time you have with the team! The time I have spent with them have been some of the best memories I have made at Swarthmore!
