PEABODY — When it came to finding the right college, academics was always going to come first for Peabody’s Amber Kiricoples.
Serving as class president for Peabody’s class of 2021 and boasting a 3.7 GPA, Kiricoples has her sights on studying business beyond high school and there was no better spot to do that than Bentley University.
“The level of the academics at Bentley is crazy,” Kiricoples said. “They’re known as one of the best business schools in the country. I’ve always been really interested in that and marketing.”
Kiricoples is just as sharp athletically, helping lead the Tanners in basketball, soccer and lacrosse. Despite plenty of options on where, and what sport, to continue playing at, she eventually landed on committing to play women’s lacrosse with the Falcons.
“I looked at Roger Williams where I could’ve played basketball and lacrosse,” Kiricoples said. “Then there is UMass Lowell lacrosse but my heart was at Bentley. I couldn’t imagine can’t giving up the opportunity to go there.
“I feel like (at Bentley) my hard work in the classroomhas really paid off,” Kiricoples said. “It’s not for sports, but I am blessed to be joining a great team.”
The Falcons are coached by Taylor Bastien and have been very competitive in the Division II’s Northeastern-10 Conference. The coronavirus pandemic made recruiting a nightmare for Kiricoples and other spring athletes this year, but she was still able to meet, and even play under, Bastien this summer.
“I was playing in the Elite-100 lacrosse showcase and (Bastien) was actually one of the coaches there,” Kiricoples said. “We started talking and I got to tell her I was interested in playing at Bentley. The coronavirus made it really hard for anyone to really see me play so I had to got to a lot of camps and clinics like that. Now I get to play lacrosse for a great team.”
Despite the canceled junior season, Kiricoples did play and improve plenty for the Tanners, even taking the field with her sister, Olivia, also playing college lacrosse at Worcester State, for a few years. Peabody lacrosse coach Dennis Desroches, who also coaches girls soccer, gave Kiricoples a chance to hit the field early on and she made the most of it. Kiricoples was named defensive MVP for the Tanners her sophomore year.
“Freshman year (Desroches) gave me an amazing opportunity to be a draw specialist,” Kiricoples said. “Then it just became my specialty. He’s kept me in every game and just pushes me. He pushes me to my full potential on the field, always at center-midfield.”
Kiricoples will hopefully have a chance to cap off her career with the Tanners this coming spring if the season goes as scheduled. Either way she’s expecting an abundance of opportunities on and off the field at Bentley.
“(Bastien) was very positive about the program,” Kiricoples said. “She talked a lot and the team seems very dedicated. And Bentley’s campus is so pretty, so nice and it’s right near Boston so there’s a lot of internship opportunities.”
“Another thing is that the education is really competitive,” Kiricoples said. “It’s not easy to get in so you know everyone there is dedicated and works hard. And that carries on to the sports fields too. Everyone there is hardworking no matter what.”
