Senior Athlete Spotlight: Isabella Egea Guimaraes

While Isabella Egea Guimaraes played individual sports while growing up, she realized she was missing out on the team aspect. This is what first drove her to start playing lacrosse in the 8^th grade, playing on a high school team despite not having any prior experience. “I thought lacrosse was a sport that cultivated a great team atmosphere and I was envious of that,” Egea Guimaraes recalls. In the years since, she has become both an outspoken leader and captain of Palmer Trinity’s Varsity Girls Lacrosse team.

Egea Guimaraes is proud of the growth of the program since she first got to Palmer Trinity. She believes the biggest difference is the number of players entering the program at a younger age and consistently being involved in training or club teams in the offseason. With the Middle School Girls Lacrosse team entering its third season, the numbers of participants in Girls Lacrosse keeps growing, which sets the program up for long term sustainability and success. “Everyone feels motivated to earn their place, regardless of age,” Egea Guimaraes believes. She is impressed by the culture of the team from the Middle School to the Varsity to the coaching staff. With Varsity Head Coach Stefania Anastasiou in her first year, Egea Guimaraes is impressed by not only the support and experience she brings, but her different insights as a former goalie.

         
Prior to 2023, many Middle School student-athletes joined the Varsity Girls Lacrosse team, creating a challenge for Egea Guimaraes and the other captains to find a way to connect a group that had almost as many 12-year-olds as 18-year-olds. Egea Guimaraes made sure she always led by example and helped to grow not just the friendships on the team, but the confidence of all her teammates. “I made sure a hierarchy of age was not a main pillar of the team and that there was no separation between the middle schoolers and high schoolers. If you are working hard and being a good teammate, you will be respected.” Egea Guimaraes also loves the bus rides where she feels everyone on the team has come together and opened up to each other.

Egea Guimaraes is excited for the future of PTS Athletics where she feels the school is making a name for itself. “All of our Fall and Winter sports made it past Districts – it’s extremely impressive,” she states. You can often find her on the sidelines cheering on other sports at Palmer Trinity. In fact, Egea Guimaraes claims her favorite memories don’t even involve a game she was in, instead games that showcased the Palmer Trinity school spirit where she was surrounded by friends and classmates. She recalls Battle of the Oar, Varsity Boys Basketball Senior Night, and Varsity Girls Soccer Regional Finals as her favorites – at least for the time being. She believes ultimately her final lacrosse game against Gulliver, her former school, later this season will wind up being her favorite memory as her lacrosse career comes full circle with many familiar faces.

Egea Guimaraes is extremely active off the field, serving as a lacrosse coach with RAE Lacrosse at St. Thomas and throughout the summer at various clinics and camps. She is excited to continue building the sport in Miami while being a role model for younger girls. While she has many other activities such as a math tutor, part-time job, and community service organizations she belongs to, she finds coaching as her favorite and most impactful.

           
Affairs and Finance with hopes of becoming a lawyer. She lists her favorite food as a full Brazilian barbeque with steak, chicken, and salsichao with a bunch of side dishes, favorite TV show as Suits, and favorite artist as Bad Bunny.

Be sure to come out and support Bella and the rest of the Varsity Girls Lacrosse team this season!

 

Go Falcons!