Lakeland senior Morgan McCaw signed her National Letter of Intent earlier this week, accepting a scholarship to play field hockey at Longwood University.

McCaw is the second Lady Cavalier field hockey standout to earn a scholarship from Longwood in the last year, McCaw will be joining Kaity Byrum, who was a freshman forward this past season for the Lady Lancers.

For a McCaw, a back and team captain for the Lady Cavaliers, it’s both the end of a long process and the start of a new, exciting one.

“It’s a lot of time and work that goes into this. It’s a great weight off my shoulders to know where I’m going to school and to know the financial part is taken care of,” McCaw said Friday during a signing ceremony at Lakeland.

“There’s so much time away from the school season, it’s a great feeling to know it all paid off,” McCaw said.

There’s a constant schedule of camps, select teams and just plain practicing and conditioning beyond the high school field hockey schedule. For the Lady Cavaliers though, McCaw helped lead last fall’s team to its 10th straight regular-season championship in the Southeastern District, the first-ever state tournament berth where Lakeland reached the semifinals and a 20-3 overall record. McCaw earned first-team All-State honors in Group AAA this season.

“I really liked the school when I had my visit there. I love the atmosphere, the team and the campus. I know it’s the place for me,” McCaw said. McCaw is interested in, but still officially undecided for the time being, studying graphic design.

“It’s a great feeling to know I’ve accomplished something like this,” McCaw said.

Longwood was 10-11 overall and 4-2 in the NorPac Conference this season. With Byrum included, the Lady Lancers had nine players from Eastern Region high schools on their 2009 team.