Feb. 11, 2004

VILLANOVA, PA. - The 18th Annual National Girls and Women in Sport Day was held on Feb. 5, 2004 at Saint Joseph's University for the fifth consecutive year. The NGWSD was created to recognize the achievements of women and sports and the importance of sports and fitness for girls and women of all ages. This year's theme was, "Play Fair." The event was a success as it reached out to hundreds of girls in the metropolitan Philadelphia area.

The day began with a mini-awards ceremony honoring high school and middle school girls as well as some of the program's sponsors. After the awards ceremony, the girls were divided into four groups and rotated through four stations. The first station was a presentation of the transition from high school to college, which noted the importance of maintaining good grades. The second station included demonstrations of the rules of various up and coming women's sports, including rugby, lacrosse and rowing. The third station involved round table discussions with various collegiate student-athletes from the Big Five schools. From Villanova, softball's Robin Flier; track and field's Juliette Kenny; tennis's Erica Walter; and Nancy Olewnik, Meg Walsh, Devon Albert and Catherine Jonaitis from the crew team went through a question and answer with the girls.

All the girls involved in National Women in Sport Day were interested in sports, particularly how to get involved with collegiate athletics. The final station involved two former student-athletes: Trish Juhline, a stand-out basketball player at Villanova, and Gina Bundy, a former Saint Joseph's track and field athlete who is also a member of the United States bobsled team. The girls asked a lot of questions regarding their career paths on how they became successful in sports. Trish recounted her days at Villanova, beginning with the first basketball camp she attended, and Gina explained how she got into bobsledding after college.

Currently, Trish is getting her masters in education at Drexel while coaching with former Wildcat Denise Dillon. Gina is in medical school at Temple and is putting her bobsledding career on hold.

As usual, the day showed women how to have fun, as well as the positive impact sports can have on people's lives.