Whitney Borovicka is a standout midfielder on the ADVNC North Bay and NDP 2026 team committed to playing at Wesleyan University, starting next Fall.
Whitney’s mom, Megan was a standout lacrosse player growing up in Maryland, and initially went to Yale to play the game. Ultimately, she decided not to play at Yale, and focus solely on academics, but she instilled a love of the game in her daughter, and son Thomas. Thomas plays for the ADVNC East Bay 2028 team.
“As a former lacrosse player myself, the best part of seeing Whitney discover her lacrosse drive is watching her exceed me tenfold in skill, speed, commitment, ferocity, grit, leadership, and effectiveness as a teammate,” said Megan Borovicka. “My lacrosse career ended earlier than expected because I focused on other pursuits. Whitney is light years ahead of where I was with her mental and physical preparation for thriving as a college athlete and student.”
Whitney played soccer and did ballet growing up, and started playing lacrosse in 6th grade for the Berkeley Lacrosse Club.
“I remember lacrosse not being like any other sport I had played before,” said Whitney. “The stickwork skills were a struggle for me, at first. I couldn’t catch very well, and it was hard. But I remember the feeling of just working hard at it over and over again, and that progression of improvement through work was very rewarding.”
Whitney kept working at getting better at lacrosse, while still doing both ballet and soccer. “I would finish lacrosse practice, and then put my dance leotard on in the car,” Whitney recalled. “I felt a very strong attachment to ballet, because I had been doing it since I was 4 years old. But, I started enjoying lacrosse more, along with soccer. I was starting to get much better at lacrosse, and decided I just liked it more.”
Whitney joined her first club lacrosse team, LaxUhr, in the East Bay.
“That’s the point I sort of turned off from both soccer and ballet completely,” Whitney said. “I was having more fun with lacrosse, and I was just better at it. It was also a unique sport for me, because none of my friends were playing. I was doing something different, and I liked that. It was also fun sharing lacrosse with my mom. Then, my younger brother started playing lacrosse around the same time too.”
“Returning to lacrosse as a parent after a twenty-year hiatus reminded me how much fun it is,” said Megan Borovicka. “Lacrosse was a family affair even before Whitney and Thomas started playing. My sister also played in college, at Virginia Tech. My dad coached both of us and hundreds of girls throughout Anne Arundel County, Maryland. My mom cheered and photographed every game. My kids’ East Coast tournaments with ADVNC have structured our recent family vacations. Cross generational lacrosse playing, watching, dissecting, planning, and debating has become my family’s love language.”
In keeping with that theme, Whitney and Thomas practice together and push each other to improve. “We go out to the field all the time and play together,” she said. “We have funny stories about hitting each other with balls. We go out there and do a lot of sprints together too. He is always pushing me to keep going.”
Soon, Whitney wanted a more competitive club lacrosse experience, and joined ADVNC NDP, first as a guest player.
Whitney is a standout midfielder at Berkeley High School.
“I went to a tournament in Arizona with NDP at first,” recalled Whitney. “I thought to myself, this is the kind of lacrosse I wanted to play. I was learning so many new things with ADVNC. I was so impressed with the coaching and how focused the other players were. I was very impressed with the whole thing. So I tried out for the ADVNC North Bay team, and made it, and it’s been a great experience.”
“I really like the larger community of ADVNC,” Whitney said. “I could see how good the other girls in the classes above me were, and I looked up to them. I could see where this was all headed. All the coaches supported me and had a ton of knowledge about the game to share with me. I also loved meeting a whole new group of girls. I didn’t know anyone with ADVNC at that point. It was a cool experience to really just put myself out there and learn how to play with and be friends with a whole new group of people.”
Whitney credits the coaching she has received from former ADVNC Director Cori Conner, and her current coaches, Coach Flo (Alica Florin) and John Finnegan with ADVNC NDP.
“Coach Finnegan has a different style of teaching the game that I have really enjoyed,” Whitney said. “He does drills and brings up concepts that no other coach has given me. Coach Flo has been extremely helpful and supportive in my college recruiting journey. They have both been hugely helpful.”
“I am grateful to Whitney’s ADVNC coaches, especially Coaches Cori, Flo, and John, for the confidence they have shown in her, not just in words but by trusting her with clutch responsibilities and giving her opportunities to shine as well as make mistakes she could learn from,” said Megan Borovicka. “That type of confidence is contagious, and it helped Whitney grow into a mature young woman who believes in herself and can advocate for herself. I am also thankful for Whitney’s ADVNC teammates from across the Bay Area and Pacific Northwest. When she joined ADVNC and did not yet know the other girls, it was hard. We encouraged her, “make your teammates look good and they’ll want to pass to you.” Over the years, I’ve watched the team develop chemistry and trust – they bring out the best play in each other. When the competition is tough out there, and college recruiting pressure is high, I enjoy seeing the ADVNC girls truly happy for each other as they take these next big steps.”
“ADVNC has been great for Whitney and our family,” said Whitney’s dad, Cory Borovicka. “We’ve gotten to spend so much great time together traveling to practices and tournaments. We’ve gotten to see some really great places together. It has been stressful at times, because things never go exactly how you want them to. But the entire journey has been both challenging and rewarding.”
Whitney first thought about playing in college in her freshman year of High School, but she wasn’t sure where she fit into the whole landscape of college lacrosse.
Going into the summer of her sophomore year, she leaned on her ADVNC coaches for advice and support through the recruiting process. She made a highlight tape and started emailing coaches. She credits Cori Conner for helping her come up with a great list of schools to focus on. Whitney said while she thought about playing at the Division I level, she focused on playing at the Division III level, where she could prioritize academics and play at a high level as well.
She started talking to coaches and visiting prospect camps at a number of Division III schools in the Northeast. She soon became very interested in Wesleyan University.
As July 1st drew near, and DIII colleges could officially offer her a spot, Whitney had a phone call with Wesleyan’s head coach, Kim Williams. “Coach Williams said, on Tuesday, when we call you, are you going to be ready to give us an answer?” Whitney said. “I was in the backyard at my grandparents house, and I just froze. I started to realize my hard work was going to pay off.”
A few days later, July 1st came, and Coach Williams called to officially offer Whitney a spot. Her parents encouraged her to not say yes right away, and to take time to consider all her options.
“There had been so much work to get to that point,” Cory Borovicka said. “So I had Whitney tell me, in detail, all the reasons she wanted to go to Wesleyan.”
“I had been on campus a good amount of times at that point,” Whitney said. “I loved the coaching style and I loved how tight knit the players were. It seemed like a very special community, and the school itself was very high in terms of academics. It was also very close in location to my grandparents, so that made me feel good.”
Whitney soon called Coach Williams back and committed to Wesleyan. An extremely proud moment for her and her family, and one that was at the end point of a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication.
“Throughout the entire process, Coach Finnegan kept telling Whitney to go where you feel the most loved,” said Cory Borovicka. “Wesleyan made her feel the most loved and the most wanted. That meant a lot.”
Whitney is interested in pursuing a degree in biology with an eye towards becoming a doctor.
Whitney said she is an avid fan of watching lacrosse on TV. She looks up to UNC star Cloe Humphrey and former Northwestern star and WLL standout Izzy Scanes. “The style that Chloe plays is really impressive to me,” Whitney said. “It’s amazing. And I love how Izzy plays too. She came and did a clinic for my ADVNC team recently and that was awesome to meet someone I really look up to.”
Whitney has this advice for young players who look up to her, and want to emulate her game. “You have to have a passion for and an enjoyment of the game. You need to be motivated to play wall ball every day and work outside of practice. Having a love for improving and the drive to get better than everyone else is super important.”