New York Institute of Technology was originally on Audrey Knowlton's radar screen when she began sending out basketball recruiting tapes during her junior season. But Knowlton lost contact with the Division 2 college sometime after that and began looking into several Division 3 schools in the area.
That all changed about a month ago when Knowlton reached out to the school, who in turn began recruiting Gloucester's star guard. The recruitment has now turned into a commitment as Gloucester's 1,000 point scoring guard signed her letter of intent to play basketball at the Long Island school this coming winter.
With her senior year winding down following a highly successful basketball season where she helped lead Gloucester to the Division 2 North Quarterfinal, an exciting time of year just got even more thrilling for Knowlton.
"Once I got back in touch with (NYIT) it was an easy decision," Knowlton said. "The campus is really pretty and when I visited I loved everything about it. I think it's a great fit for me athletically and academically. I'm so excited about everything that's happening right now."
Knowlton, a two time Northeastern Conference guard on the hard wood who is also a key contributor on the track team this spring, finished her illustrious career at Gloucester with just over 1,100 career points and averaged 15 points per game in her senior campaign.
The swing player has been an integral part of Gloucester's success since her Freshman season as the team qualified for the state tournament in each of her four years on the team peaking in 2011 when it qualified for the Division 2 North Finals.
This coming winter Knowlton will join a NYIT team that finished 16-13 in the deep and tough East Coast Conference. Knowlton's goal is to see the court in any capacity as a Freshman and will be looking to improve her already rock solid game on the AAU circuit this summer.
"I'm not really sure what to expect, I just know the competition is going to be tough," Knowlton said. "I want to see some action as a Freshman and hopefully work my way into the starting lineup by my senior year. I know that I really have to work on my entire game this summer but I have the drive to improve."
As Knowlton pointed out, the fit is not just a good one on the hardwood, it's a good fit in the classroom as well. She will enter NYIT this fall majoring in electrical engineering and computer science, she is also enrolled in the school's honors program and is hoping to follow in her father James' footsteps, who is an engineer. Knowlton is currently a National Honors Society member at Gloucester High School excelling in the classroom the same way she does on the court.
"My father is an engineer so that is definitely something I've wanted to study in school," Knowlton said. "I'm really excited for the opportunity and I want to thank my friends and family for the support they have given me throughout high school."
