Oct. 22, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State lacrosse and field hockey programs are teaming up in support of former Nittany Lion standout Deb Andress as she wages a battle with a brain tumor.
On Sun., Nov. 2, a collection of friends and family, dubbed "Team Andress", will participate in the third annual Race for Hope in Philadelphia, a 5K Run/Walk sponsored by the Brain Tumor Society. The event raises funds for innovative research and support services for brain tumor patients and their families. Team Andress will be selling t-shirts for $10 at the event, with 100% of the proceeds going to The Jefferson Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in Philadelphia. As of October 22, members of "Team Andress" have raised $18,795 through donations.
"This is a great cause to support and it is so special to all of us to support Deb," said Penn State field hockey coach Char Morett, who was a teammate of Andress. "She is such a caring and wonderful person who has touched so many lives in a meaningful and positive way. We all love her dearly and will fight alongside her to find a cure."
Andress played both field hockey and lacrosse for the Nittany Lions and was a member of teams that won two AIAW National Championships during her Penn State career. In January, she was named the first women's lacrosse coach at Penn State Abington, a program that is scheduled to begin varsity play in the spring of 2009. Andress, also an instructor of kinesiology at Abington, has coached lacrosse and/or played at nearly every level, from youth to national play. A former member of the U.S. Women's Lacrosse Team from 1980-1984, she was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
In addition to her skills as a player, Andress has served as head of the selection committee and head coach for the Philadelphia Area Girls Lacrosse Association U15 and U13 squads from 2002-2006, and she continues to direct and coach the OLMC Girls Lacrosse Youth Organization for second through eighth-grade girls in Bucks County.
Andress' bonds to Penn State are strong, as she is married to John, a former quarterback on the Nittany Lion football team. Also, the Andresses son Johnny is a junior defender on the men's lacrosse team while their daughter Lea is a freshman attacker on the women's lacrosse squad.
Members of "Team Andress" with ties to Penn State that will participate in the Race for Hope include Char Morett (field hockey/lacrosse), Betsy Dougherty (lacrosse), Laurie Markle (lacrosse), Mike McClouskey (football), Mimi McClouskey (track), Jeff Bergstrom (football), Karen Schnellenbach (field hockey/lacrosse), Linda Schaffer (lacrosse), and Sam Mararchi (Nittany Lion).
For more information or to make a donation, visit the Team Andress page on the Brain Tumor Society's Race for Hope website.