October 12, 2006
Eagle women’s ‘All Star’ team striding for cancer research

Note: For a complete list of DWC participants, click here. For information about sponsoring the DWC team, contact Women's Basketball and Cross Country Head Coach Cori Hughes.

The many women who represent Daniel Webster College on the courts and fields of New England are known for their teamwork, hustle and endurance. Sprinting towards a soccer goal, jumping up to finish a volleyball spike, swinging for the center field fence, or charging towards the cross country finish line come with the territory when an Eagle student-athlete pulls on her red and white uniform and face the tough battles that come in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference.

But this Sunday, October 15th, many of DWC’s same standout student-athletes will be teaming up to help out with one of the toughest battles of all, and will do so by simply going for a walk.

It’s not just any walk these 25 women will be making, however. They’ll join hundreds of others at Greeley Park in Nashua, N.H. for the annual “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” beginning at 10 a.m.

The annual event is the American Cancer Society’s rallying cry to raise awareness and dollars to fight the disease, which is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women (after nonmelanoma skin cancers) and is the second leading cause of cancer death among women after lung cancer.

“Making Strides” is a noncompetitive one-day walk that brings hope, support, and a sense of community to millions of people nationwide whose lives have been forever altered by a disease that will claim 40,970 women and 460 men in the U.S. this year. According to the Society, 940 women and men will be diagnosed with breast cancer each year.
 

For Daniel Webster Women’s Head Basketball and Cross Country Coach Cori Hughes, who is entering her sixth season with the College and organized the Eagle contingent, joining the event was inspired by the memory of someone very close to her that succumbed to the disease.

Three years ago, Patsy Quinn, mother of current Eagle women’s basketball assistant coach Kerri Quinn, died of breast cancer. Patsy Quinn was first diagnosed in the early 1980’s, and had three separate battles with the disease over three decades before succumbing in June 2004.

Hughes had grown very close to Quinn, who became a maternal figure in her life. “Not only was she a mother of nine, a grandmother of 18, and a friend to countless, to me, she was a “mother” for a young woman far from home,” Hughes said. “She was home cooked meals, and “family” Christmases; an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on. She always remembered my birthday, made me an Easter baskets, and was my biggest fan at summer league softball games on humid August nights. She was a constant figure of love in my very inconsistent world. She was one of the most giving, kind and wonderful people I have ever met in my entire life. I loved her and I miss her.”

Inspired by the memory of Quinn, Hughes will lead a group of 25 DWC women who, as of Thursday, October 13th, have already raised a total of $1,650.00 through sponsorships.

“I am extremely proud of our women student-athletes who are taking time out of their Sunday morning to join us for this event,” said Hughes. ““All of these young women are leaders on this campus, and are constantly asked to be involved in a myriad of committees, activities, and events – both at the college and in the community. Somehow, they always find the time and energy to step up, accept one more challenge or responsibility, and go the extra mile … in this case, literally. They are wonderful ambassadors for athletics, and this institution as a whole. I am extremely proud of all of their efforts – on and off the playing fields. We truly are fortunate to have such strong, involved, and conscience leaders wearing the red, white and blue for Daniel Webster College.”

The 17 student-athletes participating include: Ashley Boyd (volleyball, basketball), Joanna Brinkerhoff (cross country, softball), Danielle Carkin (soccer, basketball, softball), Jessica Carter (volleyball, softball), Emily Coole (cross country and basketball), Bre DeMarco (cross country, basketball), Chelsea Graf (volleyball), Sarah Hunt (soccer), Amy Ingvertsen (volleyball), Cara Jameson (basketball), Tanya Jazwinski (class of 2005, volleyball, softball), Brianna Johnson (volleyball and basketball), Erin Moseley (volleyball, basketball, softball), Jenn Omer (volleyball), Jenny Ozug (soccer, basketball, softball), Sarah Shea (soccer, basketball), Sharma Wing (soccer), and Stephanie Zubricki (soccer, basketball, softball), and Brittney Beck (close supporter of Eagle athletics).

The group also includes Head Volleyball Coach Tammy Lambrou and Assistant Volleyball Coach Erin Normand.

In 2005, more than 400,000 people nationwide participated in Making Strides walks, including nearly 60,000 walkers at 15 events in New England. The money raised through pledges and sponsorships funds cutting-edge breast cancer research; prevention, detection, and patient service programs, as well as advocacy efforts to ensure, among other things, that every woman, regardless of their ability to pay, can get lifesaving mammograms and breast cancer treatment.