NEWS
Field Hockey Played in Pink for Kate Singletary ’19
Kate Singletary ’19 (back row between the two goalies in teal) was there for the Wildcats’ win.
DAVIDSON — Sarah Grace Clifton’s goal with 9:32 remaining lifted the Davidson field hockey team past Bellarmine 2-1 Sunday afternoon at Belk Turf Field.
With the win, the Wildcats improved to 4-4, while Bellarmine fell to 2-6.
The Wildcats’ winning second goal over Bellarmine.
“Today was fun,” said Davidson coach Zoe Almquist. “We talked a lot about playing a complete game, start to finish. And I really think the group weathered all the challenges that came our way today. It was a great way to respond after a long road trip Thursday and Friday. It was also a great team effort with every person really buying in and playing the team role that we needed to have them play.”
Clifton’s first goal of the season came off an Eva van der Kooi assist from the left side and found the cage 4:18 after Bellarmine’s Sammie Callaghan evened the score early in the fourth quarter.
Davidson led 1-0 at the half thanks to van der Kooi’s first college goal, off a Celie Constantine assist, 3:13 into the second quarter.
The Wildcats held a 16-6 shots advantage, including four by Macy Curtis and three by Sib Naaktgeboren.
As part of their Pink Game, the Wildcats wore new pink uniforms and recognized former player Kate Singletary ’19 pregame. Full story below
Kate Singletary #16 on her DCFH senior day in the fall of 2018. (News of Davidson photo)
During her time at Davidson College, Kate Singletary ’19 was well-known for her kind gestures and the gifts she’d give her friends and field hockey teammates.
Sometimes, it was a personalized canvas painting featuring a person’s initials. At others, it was a thoughtfully timed handwritten note. And then, there were her cake pops. No one could get enough of those sweet treats.
“I think anyone who knows her would say this — she is truly the kindest, most selfless person that was on our team, easily,” says Emily Roebuck ’20, a former teammate. “Anyone who was on the team with her would attest to that. She was always putting everybody else’s needs before herself, going out of her way to make sure that people, like the freshmen, felt welcomed.”
Since graduation, Singletary has continued to serve others while working as a paramedic in her hometown of Winston-Salem, and she’s supported relatives and loved ones in their fights against cancer, which included one summer-long, cross-country running event in 2019.
Now, it’s everyone’s turn to support Singletary. The Davidson field hockey team, past and present, and others, are coming to Singletary’s aid as she undergoes treatment for breast cancer.
The Wildcats are dedicating Sunday’s “Pink Game” against Bellarmine to her and others with the disease. Singletary will be recognized prior to the 12 p.m. game and then watch as the Wildcats compete in new pink uniforms.
“It’s about rallying around our own,” says head coach Zoe Almquist. “Any alum is our own forever, for life. The team really understands that, and any time we have the opportunity to interact with alumni, they buy into it, they jump in with the chance. This is a chance for them to come around and work with and support someone that’s in our family.”
Nicknamed “Trip” because she’s a triplet, Singletary played midfielder at Davidson and appeared in 41 games from 2015 to 2018. She scored a goal against LIU in 2016. But beyond the sport’s painted lines and statistics, Singletary was known for being there for her teammates, often providing a comforting presence and listening ear during the ups and downs of life.
“This is our opportunity to now rally around her and be there for her in her time of need because I feel like, without question, she has always been there for all of us,” says Roebuck.
Shortly after her Davidson graduation, Singletary embarked on 49-day journey across the country (More on that here).
It wasn’t a typical leisurely summer trip or relaxing vacation but rather a personal and shared mission. Along with about 30 others, she was part of the nonprofit Ulman Foundation’s 4K for Cancer, which zigzagged almost 4,000 miles from San Francisco to Boston in support of young adults who have been affected by cancer. Each day, runners took turns running 10 to 15 miles apiece, with their feet on the ground and their hearts and minds focused on others, many of them relatives. At the time, Kate was running in support of her father, John, who has multiple myeloma.
That journey came just a few months after her field hockey teammates joined her in running a 5K race in Charlotte to support the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Together, the Wildcats saw one of their own in need and came to help.
A few years have passed, but now the teammates are huddling up again, this time for Singletary herself.
“It’s still the same team,” says Roebuck.
Want to help?
There are multiple ways to get involved.
If you’d like to help support Kate Singletary in her battle against cancer, please visit her GoFundMe page here.
Along with Connor Eating House, Davidson Field Hockey partners the nonprofit Earlier.org – Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Test.