Maeve Garvey is a fourth-year on the UChicago women’s softball team. She concluded her collegiate career when the softball season ended in April. During her four years, she excelled on and off the field, both as an athlete and as a student. Garvey exhibited great determination, passion, and dedication to the team and challenged herself to be the best she could be in every aspect.
Garvey first started playing competitive softball when she was eight years old. Back then, she did not particularly enjoy the sport. She saw it as more of an obligation and responsibility. She recounts, “My grandfather was actually the one who convinced me to go out for the team. He insisted that I was ‘born to play softball.’ I just nodded my head and went along with it, assuming it was just something that my grandfather was obligated to say. During my first year on the team, I did not really play—maybe a handful of evenings out of an entire summer. My grandfather still came to every single game and recalls that even though I did not play, he could tell that I loved the game. Apparently, I would just stand against the dugout fence with a huge smile on my face, cheering on my teammates and just waiting for the coach to give me a chance.”
Garvey’s grandfather played a huge role in her softball journey by constantly supporting and encouraging her to play and stick with the sport. “By the time the next summer came around, I was starting every game and really have not looked back since.”
In high school, Garvey was a four-year starter on the varsity team. During this time, she realized that she “really fell in love with softball.” It taught her “a lot about the importance of teamwork, work ethics, and overcoming adversity.” Like other athletes, she trained hard, and it was through her hours of training that she was able to get to where she is now. She said, “I was extremely fortunate to play alongside many teammates who actually continued on at the DI level; these women pushed me every single day to be the best version of myself, both on and off the field. Getting to compete alongside incredibly driven and talented women was one of the reasons that I continued to play softball at the collegiate level. I knew I wanted to challenge myself during my college career, and attending UChicago gave me the opportunity to do that both academically and athletically.”
Garvey has been a valuable asset to the UChicago softball team. She holds the No. 1 single-season doubles record and the No. 3 season RBI record. Garvey was named a first team All-UAA conference outfielder in 2017 and MVP in her senior season. In her junior year, she led the team with a .368 batting average, five home runs, 31 RBI, and six doubles, even finishing the season on a nine-game hitting streak. Her hard work and commitment to the sport has allowed her to make huge improvements season after season. She always pushed herself to work harder and be her best.
Looking back at her time in college with the softball team, she found the 2018 June trip to Australia most memorable. During the two-week trip, the team spent their day off snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef. Garvey reflected, “It was an absolutely perfect day, 75 and sunny with great visibility. Whenever I think back to that trip, I can’t help but think of the many hours spent snorkeling and laughing with my teammates.”
