Northeast standout Nikki Hallikas rests up for lacrosse, Navy

Northeast's Nikki Hallikas has been one of the top lacrosse and field hockey players in Anne Arundel County the last two years. Now a junior, she has already verbally committed to the Naval Academy to play lacrosse.

Due to some lingering back pain, she has decided to sit out the remainder of this year's field hockey season, but expects to be ready for another season of lacrosse in the spring and another season of field hockey next year.


She carries a 3.5 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society and Northeast's Scholar Program.

Why have you decided to not finish the rest of the field hockey season?

I play club lacrosse during the summer, so I just felt like I needed a break. I've been having some back pains, so I wanted to rest up to make sure I was ready for lacrosse in the spring.

Since this is your first fall not actively playing a sport, what are you doing to stay in shape?

I go to the gym a lot and do my own exercises. I work on my arms and legs a lot and I also run on the track.

How did the commitment to the Naval Academy develop? Was it a goal of yours to go there?

They came to one of my fall tournaments, and they were one of the first colleges to ever say anything to me. I had no intentions of going there, but it's a great opportunity.

Did you have any other schools who were looking at you?


I didn't really have a lot of other schools in mind. I know Old Dominion and Towson were looking at me, as well as some Division II and Division III schools.

What was it like when you first heard from the Naval Academy? Were you surprised?

Yes, and I was excited because they were the first college that had noticed me and said anything to me.

What do you know or what have you been told about just how different a typical day is at the Naval Academy as opposed to a traditional college?

I had an overnight visit there once and I went to one of their practices, and I really liked it. It doesn't seem like it's that different, but they do a lot of weight training. I was able to watch a lot of documentaries about Plebe Summer, and that was cool.

What are your impressions of Navy women's lacrosse coach Cindy Timchal?


She seems really nice. She's a hard worker and she motivates the players a lot, at least from what I noticed when I was there. I went to one of their games, as well as a question-and-answer session for kids my age. She did answer a lot of the questions that me and some of the other people asked.

With it being a verbal commitment, do you see any reason why you would back out?

I was keeping my options open, and I told her (Timchal) that. Then I realized what a great opportunity this was, and not too many people get this opportunity, so why not take it?

What can you say about all the boys and girls lacrosse players from Anne Arundel County who have gone on to play college lacrosse?

It says that we have a lot of potential. A lot of schools, like Northeast, are trying to build a program. Even though we're a small school, we're trying to build it up and our coaching staff is doing a great job with that.

What types of courses are you taking, especially now knowing that you're going to the Naval Academy?

Last year I took one [Advanced Placement] class, AP Government. This year, I'm taking four. AP World History, AP Language, AP Calculus and AP Physics.

Playing two sports and with your workout routine, how do you balance everything?

It's really hard at times. I usually go home and eat, and sometimes I'll go to the gym or just do some home exercises. I do my homework at night.

Do you anticipate changing your workout routine next year as you get closer to going to the Naval Academy?

Yes. I'll go on some websites and look at what they do, and I'll get some information from the players on how to prepare myself for Plebe Summer, because that's hard.

In what little spare time you have, what are some things you like to do?

I play lacrosse and field hockey with friends, because that's what I really like to do. I play in some tournaments over the summer, and I go to the beach a lot because we have a house down there.

What type of career would you like your Navy career to lead you toward?

I was looking at Oceanography. ... I think that would be cool. Or, maybe, Computer Science.