Tagged: hawks

Women’s Basketball to Play4Kay in 2012-13

The women’s basketball team has recently announced that this season they will Play4Kay and raise as much money as they can to help find a cure for breast cancer.

The Play4Kay foundation is in memory of the legendary North Carolina State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and passed away on January 24, 2009 due to the illness.  According to the official Play4Kay website (play4kay.org), it states that they are a 501 charitable organization committed to being a part of finding an answer in the fight against women’s cancers through raising money for scientific research, assisting the underserved and unifying people for a common cause.

A big reason why the Blue and White are so involved in this is because of the personal impact coach Yow had on the MU coaching staff.  Head coach Jenny Palmateer played for and coached alongside Yow for a combined 14 years.  “I learned a lot of lessons as a player and as a coach from coach Yow,” Palmateer said. “To play for her, she was always the kind of coach to empower you and encourage you to do things.  There are a lot of different coaching styles out there, but her’s was always one for encouragement.  I try to carry that over because it’s a great way to do it and gets the most out of people. I learned you got to believe in people, I probably accomplished more than I thought I ever could on the court because I knew she believed that I could do it.”

 

Over the years, Palmateer grew very close to Yow on and off the court.  “She was my coach, my mentor, and my friend for a long time,” Palmateer said. “She was somebody I could always rely on for anything that I needed, advice with basketball and life, all of it, She was just unbelievable, very close relationship.”

The Play4Kay team captain and Director of Basketball Operations Meg Tarrant is doing everything she can to help find ways to raise money for the foundation.  “I want to continue to get word out as much as I can, to the student body, the Monmouth community, and the entire state of New Jersey if I can, and just continue to ask for donations and spread awareness,” Tarrant said. “The more money coming into the Kay Yow fund, the better I feel about it.”

About two months ago, Tarrant lost her mother to breast cancer.  Since the announcement of MU doing Play4Kay, there have been several donations made in memory of Tarrant’s mother.  Tarrant has said that it means so much to her for people donating and that she has reached out to each person personally to thank them.

Besides the coaching staff, this foundation touches several players on the team as well.  “I always think it’s like a great thing to do because so many families are affected by cancer, whether its breast cancer or any type of cancer. We have teammates that had a lot of family members affected by some sort of cancer. I take it as a big deal and I think it’s a great opportunity and a great thing to do,” said senior forward Abby Martin.  “I’ve had a couple family members; one of my aunts is a survivor of breast cancer, one of my other aunts passed away to it unfortunately when I was about 12 or 13.  She was really close to me, one of my closer aunts, who was one of my best friends.  It touched my household, my family and I know a lot of other people that it has touched.”

“My sophomore year of college my mother was diagnosed with cancer, it’s not a treatable form of cancer, but she is able to live fairly normally now, but it really does touch my life to  know I can help in any way I can especially since it hits so close to home,” said senior guard Carly Thibault.  “It means a lot to me, I think that honestly anyone you know can say that they know someone who knows someone else who knows someone that has been diagnosed with cancer, for me especially since it’s my mother and I’m very close to my mother it makes me happy to know that people are doing what they can to help.”

If the MAC was to sell out only one game this season, Palmateer said that she would want it to be pink game and have it just full of survivors.  “We want to try to do something to honor the survivors at half time. Have all the survivors maybe go down on the floor with someone holding a sign that says 1-5 and all the people who have been survivor for 1-5 years go stand behind the sign, then you see one with 5-10 and all the people, and then 10-15, and on and on. For the survivors to be able to look and see and be like ‘look at all the survivors’. It’s very moving and very inspiring.”

Before Yow passed away, she was quoted on kayyow.com by saying, “I am so honored and blessed to have the opportunity to establish the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, in partnership with the WBCA and The V Foundation. Despite all the games that I have coached and all the great opponents that I have battled on the court, breast cancer has by far been the toughest opponent I have faced. My hope is that this funding will help to change the lives of many men and women who face this opponent daily. Cancer is something that touches everyone’s life and it is important to understand that we all can make a difference. Each of you can be a part of finding an answer. Join me today and let’s beat cancer once and for all!”

With last season’s $1,000 goal raising close to $2,000, the Hawks’ goal this year is set at $2,000 in hopes to surpass their total once again.  On Wednesday October 17, 2012, members of the basketball team were at the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown scooping ice cream and raising money at Cold Stone Creamery.  Ten percent of the profits made that night were donated to Play4Kay under the team’s name.  In the three hours at Cold Stone, the Hawks were able to raise over $600.   To donate money and help out the cause, visit play4kay.org, click on the donate to team button and type in Monmouth University.  As of now, the Hawks are currently the leading team in the nation in raising money with close to $900

**This entry was posted in Monmouth University’s The Outlook on October 24, 2012 by myself http://outlook.monmouth.edu/index.php/sports/462-womens-basketball-to-play4kay-in-2012-13 **

Ray

@raymalaspina

School Spirit on the Rise at MU?

When you go to a Division I school, one thing that is expected of the students is to go to home sporting events to show your fan support.

During the fall season, MU is home to four teams that are held here on campus in West Long Branch. If you look up in the stands at any game, you will no­tice a mix of students and people from the community in atten­dance cheering on the Hawks.

Yes, the University is consid­ered a suitcase school for the underclassman, but students still take time out of their day and night to go to home games. Showing fan support at the Uni­versity is a must, and if the visit­ing team comes in here knowing we have the best student sections in the NEC, they will be scared.

The four teams that have games on campus are football, men’s and women’s soccer and field hockey. Between the four teams, no team ranks lower then fourth in the conference in home at­tendance. People want to go to games at home simply because it is a great place to be and see friends and classmates.

Not only does the attendance at games make the game expe­rience fun for the fans, it also helps the teams play better and get pumped dur­ing big plays.

“Energy level becomes much higher, athletes really appreci­ate them being there whether it’s friends or classmates or if they have no idea who they are, it just gives them a whole other layer of fandom for the students when they come out on campus,” Matt Harmon, a communication professor and sports broadcaster explains.

The school football team is in its 20th season and is doing bet­ter than ever. So far, the Hawks are 2-0 at Kessler Field, as they average just under 3,000 fans per game. Compared to when the team started in 1993, more and more people around the commu­nity have been coming and in­creasing in numbers every year.

“Attendance has gotten better; there has been more interest in it, in almost two decades of having the program, people are aware that Monmouth has football, where in the first couple years a lot of people didn’t know about it,” mentions Harmon.

If there isn’t a football game go­ing on, you could always find the fans under the lights at the Great Lawn. Both the men and women soccer teams play there and fan support is big as you always see the new and the old faces in the crowd.

“They have a very good group of diehard supporters but we want those numbers to grow where we are and keep multiplying,” says Eddy Occhipinti, Assistant Ath­letics Director of Marketing.

The Hawks have the ultimate home field ad­vantage as they are a combined 8-1-2 when play­ing outside of Wilson Hall and with people not so familiar with soccer coming, they can get more students into the sport and in­crease the group of die hards. When the men’s team has been as high as number 19 in the country, it’s no wonder students flock to the games.

A team that many people for­get about here at the University is the field hockey team, which plays at So Sweet a Cat Field. Yes, they are having a rough season, due to their non­conference scheduling, however they are still ranked third in at­tendance in the NEC.

Being able to have two teams nationally ranked in the top ten play at MU this year, was a big boost to get fans to come to the games. “A key to building atten­dance at sports like field hockey and lacrosse is finding the niche markets that we can market to,” Occhipinti stated in regards to marketing the team more. Next time the Hawks are home will be October 19 as they face Bryant.

No matter what athletic event you are at, whether its games or practices, there is a good chance you will see one fan in the stands, and that is President Gaffney.

“We ought to encourage this because I think it does a lot for the general morale on campus, the spirit on campus, gets us con­nected to our alumni, so I try to support athletics whenever I can,” says President Gaffney.

He went on to say, “I want ev­eryone to get something out of it, I think it’s fun, it brings everyone together, and sets a good example for good team spirit.”

Since approximately 12 per­cent of the student body are var­sity athletes, President Gaffney feels that supporting the Hawks is important as it will connect the campus with the community and allow people outside this area know who MU is. He feels that the names on our jerseys are im­portant and we should represent the school as best as we can.

The University’s athletics have been getting bigger each year, big enough for local professional athletes to make appearances at home games. New York Knicks guard JR Smith was spotted at the football home opener against Rhode Island, as four-time Olym­pic Gold medalist Christie Ram­pone was seen at the women’s soccer game Friday night. One player who has yet to be seen this year, but always makes sure he goes to at least one football and basketball game every season is Dallas Cowboy wide receiver Miles Austin. Continue to show your Hawk pride at the next MU game. Who knows who you could be sitting next to as you cheer on the Hawks.

**This entry was posted in Monmouth University’s The Outlook on October 3, 2012 by myself http://outlook.monmouth.edu/index.php/sports/397-school-spirit-on-the-rise-at-mu **

Ray
@raymalaspina