Johns Hopkins women’s lacrosse senior Ava Angello recently chatted with PressBox about becoming interested in the sport in Upstate New York, what she learned from her siblings and more. The 6-foot attacker scored 65 goals and dished out 25 assists for the Blue Jays in 2025. Angello is a native of Manlius, N.Y., and graduate of Fayetteville-Manlius High School.
PressBox: How did you first become interested in lacrosse?
Ava Angello: I am the youngest of three kids, so I looked up to my two older siblings. They played lacrosse. Being the youngest, I always wanted to do what they were doing. I ended up picking a lacrosse stick up around first grade, and here we are now. I really started through my siblings and fell in love with the sport through middle school, and it has gotten me to Hopkins. I would say Syracuse, [N.Y.], is definitely a hotbed for lacrosse, Upstate New York in general with the powerhouse of Syracuse coming up through the ages. We’ve had a lot of strong girls come out and go to really good schools from the Upstate New York area, from Rochester to Syracuse and Albany and especially Long Island. Being surrounded by it, you want to be part of that community. Combining having lacrosse roots run deep in Upstate and looking up to my two older siblings, I fell in love with the sport.
PB: Who was the biggest influence on your game growing up?
AA: The biggest influences really were my brother and sister. My siblings were huge role models. My brother, [Anthony], played professional hockey, so he really showed me where hard work can take you and no dream is too big. I really looked up to him. My sister, [Maria], is four years older than me, so playing on those varsity teams pushes you to be the best possible player to try to achieve what she’s been able to do. Those two were my biggest role models. From a lacrosse standpoint, I always looked up to Taylor Cummings when I was younger. She was just your do-it-all, gritty player. That’s someone who I really wanted my game to mimic. She was creative but really stuck to the principles and is one of the greatest players in our sport, so she was the lacrosse player I looked up to when I was a kid.
PB: Is your brother still playing hockey professionally?
AA: He actually just recently retired in September. He left his junior year of college to sign with Pittsburgh. He played from [ages] 21 to 30. He had a really good career in professional hockey [and played for the Penguins for parts of three seasons]. He was an amazing role model for me in the sports world, from work ethic to having [the right] mindset to changes to going through even just tough times mentally when you don’t feel like you’re playing to your highest potential. Having that support system there and someone who’s playing at the highest level and been through it all was a huge help.
PB: What about your sister?
AA: She played lacrosse growing up in high school. She ended up going to the University of Alabama and is a civil engineer. She played club lacrosse there.
PB: Why did you choose to go to Johns Hopkins?
AA: I came to Hopkins because one, the culture here. When we were going through our recruiting, it was over Zoom, but the immense passion and tradition that I got over the phone and over a Zoom call was unmatched. I ended up coming to campus on my own and seeing how beautiful it was and the area. It was an opportunity for me to experience something different, being from Upstate New York. We’re surrounded by a lot of farmland, so I wanted to experience something new [and] come to a city. To be able to a world-class education but also play for a really well-known program with a lot of tradition and heart, it checked off every box for me. It was one of the best decisions that I have made. It’s given me so many opportunities and my best friends and girls that will be in my wedding. It really just checked off every box that I was looking for, from academics, community, culture and the lacrosse aspect of it all.
PB: What allowed you to contribute right away as a freshman?
AA: I would say the culture that not only our team but the coaching staff implemented right when they came in. It really makes you feel comfortable as a player making decisions and having that confidence, which is something I did struggle with kind of through high school and coming into college. You always want to be perfect. When our coaching staff came in, it was their first year as well when I was a freshman, so it was really new for everyone. They came in and made it a stress-free environment where they trusted our decision-making. “This is going to be the best part of your day. You guys all love the game so much, so we’re going to come here and have fun and get better together. We’re going to work to be the best possible people that we can be. That’s how it will translate onto the field.” Having that community and everyone buy into that culture really provides you with a stress-free environment to compete and play at the highest level that you can.
PB: Were you recruited by former head coach Janine Tucker or current head coach Tim McCormack?
AA: I was recruited by Coach Tucker when she was here. She ended up announcing that she was going to retire when I was a senior in high school. My freshman year, we had Tim come in and this whole new coaching staff. They are absolutely wonderful.
PB: Did this coaching staff have to re-recruit you?
AA: No, they did not. That was really awesome. They honored all of our commitments and kept everyone committed in my class and the class below us.
PB: How have you been able to improve each season?
AA: I’d say there are a lot of parts to it, one being the team that surrounds you. The culture of the program, we push everyone around us to get better. Being at Hopkins, you’re surrounded by incredible players and play against amazing people every day. They really push you to be the best version [of yourself and] to work harder and get better. I would also say I have the mindset that my brother kind of gave me growing up. He told me this quote that one of his coaches told him. “There are two types of people in this world — the people who get passed and the passers.” I use that in the mentality of, “You’ve got to keep working hard and keep getting better or else you’re going to get passed by the people who are doing that.” I’ve taken that mentality into everything really I do in life to work, but also into lacrosse — just getting better each day to improve but also make the people around me better.
PB: Who helped you develop a goal-scoring touch?
AA: I would say my sister was a big part of that. I take a lot of pride in the creativity of my game and the way that I finish. I think that just goes back to me and her playing around in the back yard. My brother was super into hockey at the time, so me and her ended up getting really close. We just got super creative in our back yard. We had a bunch of land and a bunch of time at that age. We really would just go out back and get creative. I would say I watched Nicole Levy — she was at Syracuse — to see how creative and deceptive she was in her game. I would try a bunch of stuff that she was doing. She was shooting over the shoulder, behind the back. I was really mesmerized by that, so we would go outside and try to practice stuff like that in the back yard. I ended up bringing that into school and trying to get creative in my game because I truly believe when you’re having fun, you play your best, so just have fun and let loose on the field.
PB: What’s your favorite memory so far at Hopkins?
AA: I would say last year when we played at Syracuse. It was a [14-13 overtime] win and a great game. We started off the game down five or six goals and ended up winning in overtime. We played in the dome at Syracuse. That one really resonates with me just because one, it’s my hometown. I had a bunch of family and friends end up coming. My whole family was there, which is very rare. My brother typically couldn’t come, but he was playing in Syracuse at the time, so he got to be there. It was awesome to play in the dome where I would have high school practices. I remember doing sprints around that field when I was in high school. To take a complete 180 and now be playing in there against Syracuse, it was a really cool moment — also because [my] freshman year, we ended up losing to Syracuse in the Sweet 16 in the NCAA playoffs. To be able to come back into Syracuse a couple years later and end up winning, it was a really special moment for our team.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about Baltimore?
AA: I really like Baltimore. I think it gets a bad rep, but being here I’ve really enjoyed my time. I would say honestly just the community morale that the sports fans have is awesome. I would say I am a Bills fan, so the Bills Mafia is really big for me. To see that kind of community morale down here when you go to Ravens games and Orioles games is really awesome. Just the team morale and pride that they have in their sports here and how the whole community rallies around that is really fun to be a part of. Being able to go to Ravens games and Orioles games is a lot of fun, so having that community.
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
AA: I would say my roommate currently, Morgan Giardina. She is a senior goalie. Me and her just get along. It’s funny — she’s the goalie, I’m the attacker. There’s that fun dynamic there, but I wouldn’t say there’s a set story. I think something that really pictures our friendship is every time there’s a huddle, a timeout [or] the game ends, me and her always end up going up to each other, giving each other a high five, a hug, something just to say, “Hey, we’re here for each other,” stuff like that. We’re always on opposite sides of the field, but we’re always there for each other no matter what. That’s just something that we always do. It’s kind of just second nature at this point. I would say that’s something we just care a lot about for each other on and off the field. Just us as people, there’s more to our lives than just lacrosse. I would say there’s a lot of passion and care there for our friendship, so she’s definitely someone who sticks out.
PB: Who was a player you looked up to when you first got to Hopkins?
AA: There were two — I would say Bailey Cheetham and Jordan Carr. They were two of our captains my freshman year. They really lived the values of our team and what we really preached and harped on. That’s something that stuck to me. They were captains and leaders. They were role models for how I wanted to lead if I was ever in that position, and I’m fortunate enough to now be in the role that they were in. I really take a lot of what they did as leaders and put that into the way that I lead and want to be remembered and the legacy I want to leave on this program. They were just all-around great people and amazing players. They were super gritty. They played super hard, played with a lot of heart and passion, loved the game, but most importantly they loved the people around them and cared so much about the team and wore the Hopkins name with a lot of pride. Those are two girls I really looked up to and honestly still do today. I keep in touch with them as much as I can. Those two really encapsulate what Hopkins is all about.
PB: What advice do you have for younger players going through the recruiting process?
AA: The advice I would have for younger lacrosse players going through recruiting is keep your options open. Don’t get really tunnel-visioned on either one school or one little thing in particular. I will say my story was really unique. I kind of had my mind set on exactly what I wanted. I had never sent an email to Hopkins before going into recruiting, so I never really expected them to end up reaching out, but I’m so happy they did. I decided I’ll take the call, I’ll go see the school. I didn’t really think I wanted to come to Baltimore, but I really went out of my comfort zone and it ended up being the perfect option. Keep your mind open and really give everyone a shot, talk to everyone and see as much as possible. Go to camps at schools you think you might not like because you might end up falling in love with it. I would say that’s a really big thing. Don’t just get your mind set on one school or one particular thing. There’s so much that schools have to offer, and you might not know exactly that you like that.
PB: What are your goals for after lacrosse?
AA: After lacrosse, I want to experience more of what the world has to offer. I want to go to a new city. I want to travel a bit, but also kind of start my career in the work world, whether that’s in Baltimore [or] a new city somewhere else. I definitely just want to have some new experiences, meet some new people and start my career. I’m kind of excited for what that life has to offer. It’s something new, so it’s exciting.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Johns Hopkins Athletics
Issue 297: February / March 2026
Originally published Feb. 18, 2026