ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Hannah Sparks already had a strong connection to Roberts Wesleyan University.

Her parents, Terry and Kerri, attended Roberts, as did her older brother Jake, who was a captain on the men's lacrosse team before graduating in 2020.

Despite the family ties, Hannah, who just completed her sophomore season as a member of the Roberts women's lacrosse team, didn't decide to become a Redhawk until relatively late in her college search process.

Hannah, who won two Section III championships and advanced to the state final during her high school career at perennial powerhouse West Genesee High School near Syracuse, wasn't sure that she wanted to play lacrosse in college.

Once she did, Sparks reached out to former Redhawks coach Kristin Paolini who invited her to visit campus and participate in an ID clinic.

"I guess that she liked what she saw because she offered me a spot on the team," Sparks said.

The decision worked out well for Sparks both on the field and in the classroom.

Sparks, who began playing lacrosse in second grade, took on a new role in the later stages of the season, scoring eight goals in the final four games as Roberts advanced to the finals of the East Coast Conference championship. Her breakout game came against Daemen on April18 as she scored the first four goals of her college career as the Redhawks earned a 13-9 win on Senior Day to clinch second place in the conference.

Sparks also carries a 3.90 grade point average as a Physical Education major and has been named the Roberts Wesleyan University Female Scholar-Athlete of the Month for April.

She also enjoys baking and coaching lacrosse and basketball and plans to move back to Syracuse to work as an elementary physical education teacher after she graduates.

Sparks took a few moments to share her thoughts on being a student-athlete at Roberts. Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

When you first started playing in second grade, what did you like about the game that kept you coming back?
"It was mostly my friends because everyone else was doing it, but then as I started growing up I really loved just being active and being able to get better at the sport that I was playing my whole life."

You had a really big game a few weeks ago, where you scored four goals after playing defense for the first part of your college career. What is your background in terms of the positions you've played on the field?
"I've played defense my whole life. It's been a crazy couple of weeks here that all of a sudden I've kind of switched to offense. Throughout middle school, high school, my first year and a half year of college I've been playing defense, but there's those little moments in practice where we can play offense, too, and my coaches were like, 'Wow,' and told me that I could potentially play offense. Then one of the girls ended up getting hurt and I needed to go in. It was a fever dream the whole time that I scored four goals. It was a crazy feeling."

Had you ever scored four goals in a game before?
"I think maybe I've had four goals from middle school up until that Daemen game - combined."

What did that feel like to make such a big contribution in a game that was really important to the team?
"It was a lot of fun to go out there to help my team in a way other than defense. It's a completely different feeling when you're on offense, if you're just passing the ball around. I was saying to my family that I've never touched the ball that much in a game before, then to be scoring and helping. It was our Senior Night and helping our seniors to win on their Senior Night was a crazy feeling, I can't even describe it."

What has been your favorite course so far?
"My favorites have been Individual/Dual Sports and Team Sports. They're just fun classes. We get to play all of the games we could play in a Phys Ed class and teach them to our peers. The whole class is built around getting to play, learning the rules and having fun so we can teach it in the future."

Have you had a favorite professor at Roberts?
"Mr. (Peter) Tabone, probably. He's our new Phys Ed teacher and he's fun to have in those classes."

What has your experience at Robert's been so far?
"It's been a lot of fun. I've met many great people here. The team's awesome and we've had some success. Hopefully that keeps going."

What's your favorite thing to bake?
"Chocolate chip cookies, for sure."

How would you describe the vibe on the team?
"I'd say we're all best friends. We all love hanging out together and I think that is translating onto the field, too. We play together, we work hard, then have fun. It's a really good balance that we have."

What does being a Redhawk mean to you?
"It means knowing that everyone around you has your back, whether it's your friends, your coaches or your teammates. They're all here and ready to help you with whatever you need."