Sunday, April 26, 2009

Lady laxers fall in season finale 18-12 to Eastern

Last game of the regular season for Alex's team. They made the playoffs but play away at Eastern College near Philly this coming Tuesday. I'm pulling strings to try and be there!!!


- 4-25-09 -

Box Score

Sammi Jo BellWILLIAMSPORT, Pa. --- The Lycoming College women’s lacrosse team concluded its regular season in an 18-12 loss to Eastern University on Saturday, April 25. Sammi Jo Bell led the Warrior scoring effort with three goals.

The loss drops Lycoming to 9-8 overall and 7-4 in the Middle Atlantic Conference while Eastern improves to 10-6 overall and 8-3 in the MAC. These two teams will meet again in the playoffs, this time at Eastern University on Tuesday, April 28, with the time yet to be determined.

Lycoming struck first, just 17 seconds into the contest. The Warriors won the draw and Bri Robertson finished a pass from Grace Gargiulo. The Eagle evened the score 22 seconds later, before Bell scored her first at 27:05 in what was shaping up to be a track meet of a game. But a three goal run by Eastern halted the Warrior momentum, putting them down 4-2. Bell cut the deficit to one, with 19:02 left in the first half, with assist going to Christi Karr. Back to back goals by the Eagles added to the 6-3 Eastern lead. Justine Titko was able to break up another run, getting the Warriors to within two, 6-4.

The Lady Warriors went down two players after two yellow cards, and the Eagles took advantage, scoring twice in the three minutes the Warriors were down. Kelli Morsey and Karr connected on a play, cutting the lead 9-5. But Eastern wrapped up the first half with another two goals and took a 10-5 lead into halftime.

Brittany BryanOpening the second half, the momentum was still in the Eagles court, opening with a goal to spread the gap to 11-5. Grace Gargiulo found the net with 26:43 remaining in the contest, assisted by Megan McIntyre. But another four goal run all but sealed the game. McIntyre and Titko both scored late in the half, and the Warriors compiled a four goal streak with three minutes left in the game, but came up short. Bell, Robertson, Morsey and Laura Carpenter all scored in the run.

Lycoming finishes the season as the fifth seed in the MAC tournament, and will have to travel to Eastern on Tuesday for a rematch. Game time has not yet been set.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Another new domain!

I have secured and set up another new domain.

www.christinedewitt.com

This URL will now take visitors directly to the website that I created that has the updates about Chris's courageous battle with cancer.

It's still there and will be forever!! It's now a little easier to get to!

Lady laxers top Wilkes 22-8, clinch playoff berth

Box Score

Justine TitkoWILKES-BARRE, Pa. --- Megan McIntyre had another outstanding day, leading Lycoming College with six assists and three goals in a 22-8 victory over Wilkes University on Wednesday, April 22. Lycoming now has the chance to play in the first round of the Middle Atlantic Conference tournament.

The win boosts Lycoming to 9-7 overall and 7-3 in the MAC. A win over Eastern on Saturday, April 25 would give the Lady Warriors a home game for the first round of the MAC playoffs. Wilkes falls to 9-7 on the year and 4-6 in the league.

McIntyre got the scoring going early, giving Lycoming a 1-0 advantage at 24:44. The Lady Colonels evened the score just 35 seconds later before the Warriors went on a six goal run. Christi Karr scored three times during the run, two of which were assisted by McIntyre. Justine Titko scored the first of her five goals, giving another assist to McIntyre, who also chipped in a tally. Wilkes cut the lead to 6-2 before Lycoming went on another three goal run with three different Warriors scoring. Titko, Amanda Baker and Bri Robertson all found the net to send Lycoming into halftime with a 9-4 lead.

Danielle GargiuloTitko, Robertson and Baker all opened the second half with goals, with McIntyre assisting the Robertson goal. Karr scored her fourth goal of the game between two Colonel goals. Lycoming was able to put together another six goal win, picking up goals from Titko and Sammi Jo Bell twice each, McIntyre and Robertson. Bell and Robertson put Lycoming up 21-7 and Baker rounded out the day with the last goal of the day after a final Colonel goal.

Lycoming hosts its final home game of the regular season on Saturday, April 25 against Eastern University at 1 p.m. A win seals a fourth place finish in the MAC for the Lady Warriors and a home field game on Tuesday, April 28 against the eventual fifth seed.

Monday, April 20, 2009

McIntyre scores 100th career goal in 24-12 win over Alvernia

The boys and I drove up to Reading, PA to watch Alex's game on Sunday. Nice day to get out. She has 2 games left and the playoffs start next week. Also, this is her last week of classes and she has 2 final exams next week. Should be coming home late next week unless of course they keep winning in the tournament! Here's a link to my facebook pictures of the game. Let me know if you can't see them.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=81325&id=1532347467

Box Score

Danielle GargiuloREADING, Pa. --- Junior attacker Megan McIntyre scored her 100 career goal in a 24-12 Lycoming College win over Alvernia University on Sunday, April 19. McIntyre finished the game with eight points on four goals and four assists, as Justine Titko also finished with eight points on three goals and five assists.

Winning its second game in as many days, Lycoming improves to 8-7 overall and 6-3 in the Middle Atlantic Conference. Alvernia falls to 8-7 on the year and 2-7 in the league.

Lycoming accomplished the feat with 10 different Lady laxers scoring. Sammi Jo Bell had a game high six goals. McIntyre, Titko and Bell were also joined in multiple goals by Grace Gargiulo and Christi Karr, who had three a piece. Amanda Baker, Bri Robertson, Kelli Morsey, Jackie Calbi and Laura Carpenter all had one goal each.

CongratsFourteen of the Lycoming goals came with assists. Titko set the pace with her five, followed by McIntyre and her four hand outs. Gargiulo had two dishes and Baker, Bell and Karr each had one. In the cage, Brittany Bryan had seven saves. On defense, Danielle Gargiulo had an outstanding day, causing four turnovers and picking up four groundballs and four draw controls. Titko also had four draw controls.

The Lady Warriors are off until Wednesday, April 22 when the travel to Edwardsville for an important MAC match-up against Wilkes University. The first draw is set for 4 p.m.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Post-Easter


Easter was nice. Alex was home and we went to 9am Mass with the boys. After that we went over to spend some time at my in-laws house. We even did a mini-egg hunt in the back yard! It was a nice day.

I've been feeling okay so that made it even better. I found out the results of my MRI on Friday and it was NORMAL>>> Ugh. Now what? I have to make an appointment with the gastroenterologist for sometime this week and we'll go from there.

Alex went back to school late yesterday. I had to take her up to Gettysburg where she met up with a teammate and they went back from there. I was thankful that I did not have to drive all the way up to Lyco on Easter Sunday ... again. I did it before and it's a long drive for just a drop off.

This week I am off to Philadelphia for 2 nights to attend a conference / trade-show for work. It's pretty important that I be there and it's not too far from home. The boys are on auto-pilot (long leash) but will be sleeping at our friends down the street.

Oh yeah, Saturday we drove over to our friends in Annapolis and visited for a few hours. It was really nice to get all of us out of the house. The picture shows Matty's new pets. Of course now Alex wants one!

More on me later...

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Scan results

Okay so the my General Practitioner calls me Monday morning at 7:45AM! Immediately I'm already sweatin' bullets.

The CT results showed the following: no tumors, cysts or things of that nature (Oh thank god!), slight inflammation of the pancreas, and an inflamed gallbladder. So something is now causing the gallbladder to be inflamed which causes the pancreas to be agitated which produces higher levels of lipase. You following me on this?

She called a gastroenterologist in Frederick that does some specialized test called ERCP. He in turn said no lets do a MRCP. Basically this is a non-invasive and specialized MRI of the duct work of your pancreas and gallbladder. I'm scheduled for that on Wednesday morning at 7:30 AM. The ERCP goes in through your mouth similar to an upper GI and it can actually cause you to get pancreatitis because of all the irritation that it can do. After that then we'll see how / if we can fix what's been causing the pain and issues for the last 6 weeks. All indications are gallstones followed by gallbladder removal.

Today I feel better than I have in a long time so maybe I'm on a rebound too. Still have pain but more localized. Thanks for pulling for me and looking out for me. I'll let you know more as I find things out...

Friday, April 3, 2009

CT Scan done..

Deja Vu!!

Just got back from my scan. No big deal. Side is still hurting but it may be from no food as I had to fast.

The Dr.'s office called and my amalyse is still normal but my lipase is still elevated. Although it is now 147 (4/2) vs. 249 (3/26) and normal is 70. So it is trending down which is good. Hopefully I'll make it through the weekend this time!

Update on Me.

I've been feeling pretty crummy the last 4 weeks or so. Started with a small pain to the left of my belly button and now there's pain across my abdomen and back. Not severe. More achy.

This was very similar to what I went through right after Chris passed away back in Sept 2007. At that time I finally went to a gastro dr. and they did many tests and finally discovered some erosions in my small intestine, gave me some drugs and it eventually went away.

I went to the Dr. last week and she prescribed the same drug and said lets see how that goes. I also went for a blood test. This past weekend while visiting Alex I had a few beers on Saturday night. Later that evening I experienced some severe back pains that I toughed out. Tuesday I went back to my primary care Dr. who told me that my lipase enzyme was elevated yet my amylase enzyme was normal. Both produced primarily in the pancreas. She gave me a pain med and we were going to let it go 1 more week.

Well, Wednesday the pain med (or something else) made me nauseous all day long. It was horrible. I was in bed all day. Finally started going away and I eat some soup around 7pm.
Thursday I was back up and about, and I went to get another blood lab drawn. I awaiting those results. At the same time today, Friday, I am going in to have a CT scan done of my abdomen area. Not sure what's next. The pain is moderate, more achy than anything else. Should know these results Monday or Tuesday. So that's where I'm at...

Check back later for updates.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Lady laxers overpower King's 24-5 in conference victory

Alex SCORES a goal!!!!!


Box Score

Danielle GargiuloWILKES-BARRE, Pa. --- With 14 Lady Warriors scoring a goal, including a six point night from Grace Gagiulo, the Lycoming College women’s lacrosse team overpowered King’s College 24-5 in a Middle Atlantic Conference match up on Wednesday, April 1.

After taking the win, Lycoming is 5-5 on the season and 3-1 in the MAC while the Monarchs slip to 0-8 and 0-5 in league play.

Freshman Grace Gargiulo had the finest game of her young career at Lycoming, finding the goal four times on five shots while assisting on two other goals, tallying all six of her points in the first half. Bri Robertson also had a fine day, scoring three goals and registering one assist. Sammi Jo Bell and Jackie Calbi both had two goals, while Bell also registered an assist.

Justine TitkoJustine Titko played a solid game through the midfield, putting up three goals and one assist, while also picking up seven groundballs and earning three draw controls as well as three caused turnovers. Bell was the game leader in draw controls with six. Lyz Logan put the ball in the net once, while handing out two assists. Megan McIntyre also tallied two goals as Crystal Cody, Christi Karr, Morgan Reale, Alex DeWitt, Kelli Morsey and Danielle Gargiulo all tallied one goal, with Gargiulo’s being the first of her career.

Lycoming hits the road this Saturday, April 4 when it travels to Arcadia University for another MAC match-up. The first draw is set to go off at 1 p.m.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Happy Birthday Ryan...

Today Ryan McPhee would have turned 14 years old. Instead we celebrate his birthday w/o him. I saw his father, Rich, last weekend. He explained to me how Ryan would come home after some of his treatments and be absolutely famished. They would take him out to one of his favorite places, Perkins, for something to eat. He would then order the Tremendous Twelve and devour the entire thing! 3 eggs, hashbrowns, 4 bacon, and 4 pancakes!

Now in celebration of his birthday his family goes to Perkins and order the T12. TODAY I too celebrated Ryan's birthday and his life by going to the Perkins in Williamsport with Tyler and Alex. I ordered the T12 thought of him the entire time. He'll be with me forever. God bless you Ryan. You're in good company!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Alex's Formal

Today I drove Tyler up to Lycoming College so that he could attend his sister's sorority formal dinner/dance. She invited him a couple weeks ago and everyone thought it would be a great idea and lots of fun.

She went out and bought a new outfit complete with shoes and earrings for the occasion. We came up around 1pm and got to watch Alex's lacrosse team play. It wasn't pretty. They ran into a buzz saw vs. St. John Fisher out of Rochester NY. She started and played the whole game but it's always a bit of a bummer when they lose.

So that leaves me in Williamsport at the hotel by myself. I'm hoping to get out and get a bite to eat and then to bed real early to catch up on some rest. Tomorrow is a special day. More on that later.



Here are some pictures of Alex's game today from Lycoming.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Lacrosse has begun!


Well this has been a very, very busy and difficult week. Tyler's JV lacrosse team started games on Tuesday night. I have vowed to attend every possible game that I can whenever I have the opportunity. I know from experience that my parents did not see me play very many high school sports, and I played every year.

His team lost on Tuesday to a very good team from a neighboring county, South Carrol. The score was only 6-2.

Friday night they played one their county arch rivals, Urbana. They played very hard and came out on top 6-4!!!!! This is the 1st time any TJ High School team has beaten Urbana in lacrosse from what I can remember. I may be wrong but it was a huge win!!! Ty's been working hard and got a good amount of pt (playing time)... Here are PICTURES of Tyler's game vs. Urbana.

I've had a rough week. I came down with yet another cold on Tuesday and it really kicked my butt for 2 days. I'm still not better but at least up and around. I also have had some problems with my stomach flare up again. Seems to be similar to what I had a year and a half ago right after Chrissy died. I went to my Dr. and she prescribed something that helped before. I also went for some bloodwork for the just in case scenarios.

I've been really run down lately it seems with all the activities that I'm involved in. I'm the President of Spires Lacrosse, the Treasurer of the Western MD Lacrosse Conference, and about a month ago was elected to the board of directors of the High School Athletic Boosters. So each of those things keeps me busy with meetings and website work. I'm doing okay with it, but starting next year will have to reevaluate it all as I plan on becoming heavily involved at St. John's Catholic Prep where Michael will be attending high school. We'll see.

Summer's on the way and we have NO idea what / where we are going for a vacation. It may a simple vacation to deep creek this summer. It's been 2 years since we were there in the summer and I think the kids will like it. I can remember vividly the year we went and we rented a boat with a tube and Chrissy got on and we towed her around the lake. Yes the memories will last forever...

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Lady laxers streak to victory 16-10 over Manhattanville

Box Score

Bri RobertsonWILLIAMSPORT, Pa. --- The Lycoming College women’s lacrosse team used three multi-goal streaks to take down visiting Manhattanville College 16-10 and secure the Warriors’ first Middle Atlantic Conference victory of the season. Justine Titko was a scoring machine, putting up five goals, including three straight key goals late in the game.

The win improves Lycoming to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in the MAC and Manhattanville is now 4-1 and 1-1 after taking its first loss of the year.

The Lady Warriors started off strong, scoring the first seven goals unanswered. Bri Robertson started streak, scoring on an assist from Sammi Jo Bell at 28:31. Crystal Cody found the net at 20:53 on a free position shot. Titko scored the first of her five goals to give the Warriors a 3-0 lead at 20:34. Megan McIntyre and Grace Gargiulo connected on a goal as McIntyre finished the pass. Cody and Titko rounded out the run with Cody scoring twice unassisted and Bell assisting Titko.

Manhattanville answered the Warrior run with a 6-0 run of its own to round out the first half and send the teams into the break with Lycoming up 7-4 before continuing the streak early in the second half.

Danielle GargiuloMcIntyre broke up the run at 21:27 to give the Warriors a narrow 8-6 lead. Two Valiant goals knotted the match at 8 before Lycoming was able to put together a tidy five goal run, including Titko’s natural hat trick and Robertson scoring twice, giving Lycoming a 13-8 advantage. Kelli Morsey scored the final point of the game as the buzzer rang, locking up the 16-10 victory.

Titko finished the day with six points on five goals and one assist and Cody wrapped up with four goals and Robertson with three. IN the net, Brittany Bryan was able to make seven saves as Danielle Gargiulo played tough on defense, causing six turnovers.

The Lady Warriors are back in action on Wednesday, March 25 when they travel to Dallas, Pa. to face another conference opponent in Misericordia University. Game time is set for 4 p.m.

Lycoming Relay for Life



Alex and many of her friends and classmates walked in this year's Relay for Life held at the Lycoming College indoor athletic facility. These were 2 of the many luminaries that were there...

Friday, March 20, 2009

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Women's lacrosse falls in nail biter to Susquehanna 14-12

The boys and I went up to Susquehanna to watch Alex's team. They played hard but were really up and down the whole night. Alex started and played the entire game again! She did a great job on defense . I know her mom would be very proud!

Box Score

Morgan RealeSELINSGROVE, Pa. --- Kelli Morsey scored twice under 30 seconds as the Lycoming College women’s lacrosse team fell to Susquehanna University in a non-conference match up on Thursday, March 19.

The loss drops the Warriors to 2-4 while the Crusaders improve to 5-1.

Crystal Cody scored first in the game, just 47 seconds in on a free position shot. But four straight Susquehanna goals put the Warriors in a 4-1 deficit. Cody found net again at 15:56 on an assist from Grace Gargiulo. 20 seconds later Bri Robertson scored the first of her three goals, catching and firing a pass from Megan McIntyre. McIntyre tied the game at four with 6:40 left in the first half. Susquehanna broke the tie before three more Warrior goals, two from Robertson and one from Grace Gargiulo sent Lycoming into half 7-5.

Susquehanna rattled off seven straight goals at the start of the second half to go up 12-7, taking advantage of three Warrior yellow cards. Lycoming fought back, putting in five goals in the final seven minutes of the game, getting scoring from Cody twice and Grace Gargiulo before Morsey’s final two goals, closing the game 14-12.

Crystal CodyCody, Robertson and Morgan Reale each had two caused turnovers while Alex DeWitt and goal tender Brittany Bryan had three groundballs a piece. Bryan made eight saves in the game. Cody was the Lycoming goal leader with four, adding one assist for five points.

The Lady Warriors will be back at home on Saturday, March 21 at 3 p.m. as they return to conference matches against Manhattanville at the Robert L. Shangraw Athletic Complex.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Lady Warrior lacrosse rally halted by McDaniel

I didn't get a chance to go but I was able to watch real-time statistics on the web which was just like being there. They played an incredible game and just lost by 1. McDaniel was ranked 20th in the country coming in...




Box Score

Amanda BakerWILLIAMSPORT, Pa. --- Despite a late surge, the Lycoming College women’s lacrosse team was unable to halt the Green Terror of McDaniel College, falling by a narrow margin of 12-11 on Tuesday, March 17. A late free-position shot by Crystal Cody got the Warriors to within one, but they were unable to complete the rally.

With the loss, Lycoming is now 2-3 overall while McDaniel improves to 4-3.

An early four goal streak by the Terror got them to 4-2 before Bri Robertson was able to connect on a pass from Sammi Jo Bell to close to 4-3. Another two goals by McDaniel put the score at 6-3. A foul on the crease allowed Justine Titko to take a free-position shot with 5:14 remaining in the first half, cutting the Green Terror 6-4. Grace Garguilo scored the final goal of the half with 32 seconds to send the Warriors into halftime down 8-5.

Justine TitkoBoth teams traded goals throughout the second 30 minutes, with neither team scoring more than two times in a row. Several small runs by Lycoming kept them in the game. Another goal by Cody with 21:47 remaining got the Warriors to within three, 9-6. Robertson and Baker were both able to capitalize on shots at 17:15 and 15:52, with Robertson’s goal assisted by Kelli Morsey and Baker had help from Robertson. Baker and Titko scored back-to-back goals with 5:50 remaining, cutting the Terror lead to 11-10. McDaniel’s Chelsea Feruzzi connected on an unassisted goal with the clock at 4:23 to go up 12-10 before Cody took her free-position shot with 2:30 left.

Cody was able to find the net on three of her six total shots and earned one draw control. Robertson and Bell both had three controls apiece while Grace Garguilo had two caused turnovers late in the game. As a team, Lycoming caused nine turnovers and the two squads tied in draw controls with 12, but Lycoming’s came late in the match, allowing them to close the gap. In net, Brittany Bryan had a nine save afternoon.

The Lady Warrior will be back in action on Thursday, March 19 when they travel to Selinsgrove, Pa. to face Susquehanna University in a night game, set to start at 7 p.m.

Michael goes to private school!

After a long and sometimes agonizing decision process on my part, Michael and I have decided that he will spend his high school career at St. John's Catholic Prep located here in Frederick.

This started back in October with an open house visit along with several interviews, and financial aid packets. It was a long process. We got the acceptance letter in February and had a month to decide if he was going to go AND be eligible for a scholarship. He and I talked alone at dinner on Sunday and we both felt that this would be a great opportunity for him. Class size is approximately 12-18 per class. Some as low as 5 or so depending on the class.

There are many, many positives that are too numerous to list and only a few drawbacks. The number 1 being I have to take him to school each day... I work from home so hopefully it won't be too bad, but as I told him, we do this together and I as well as he must work hard to ensure his success.

I know for a fact that Chris wanted this for him. This was something that we had talked about before and it is my duty to carry her desires forward as I continue on this single-parenting role!

Wish us luck!!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Haircut

Finally got a chance to take the dog in and get her haircut. She was getting a little unruly as she had not been cut since Nov 1. I've include a before and after picture for your entertainment!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Women’s lacrosse falls on the road to FDU-Florham 13-7


Box Score

Bri RobertsonMADISON, N.J. --- Seven different Lycoming College women’s lacrosse players second as the team fell in its Middle Atlantic Conference opener against FDU-Florham 13-7 on Saturday, March 14. Megan McIntyre led the team with one goal and one assist.

With the loss, Lycoming slips to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the MAC while FDU improves to 2-2 and 1-0.

Throughout much of the first half, the Warriors and the Devils traded goals. Crystal Cody scored first for Lycoming, catching and shooting a pass from McIntyre. After FDU rang a goal, Lycoming was able to put together a two goal run from Laura Carpenter on a free position shot and Kelly Morsey on an assist from Bri Robertson, sending the game into the half with Lycoming up 4-3.

Megan McIntyreBut the beginning of the second half belonged to FDU, who came out of the locker room scoring six unanswered goals before Lycoming’s Chisti Karr found the net, with the assist coming from McIntyre, closing the gap 9-5. Sammi Jo Bell and McIntyre scored the final two goals for Lycoming.

In the net, Brittany Bryan made 23 saves while defender Robertson had a team-high five groundballs. Bell had four draw controls.

The lady laxers will be back in action on Tuesday, March 17 when they host McDaniel College at 4 p.m.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Lady Laxers take down Soaring Eagles 18-3

I took the afternoon off and drove up to watch Alex's game today. They played great. The weather was horrible and there were 2 lyco fans and 2 Elmira fans!!!!!! Very funny. I yelled a lot. Alex started and played very well despite the cold rain! We went to the Bull Frog afterwards for a quick sandwich before I came home. Well worth the 6 hours on the road!!!!!


Box Score

Warrior DefenseWILLIAMSPORT, Pa. --- With five different Lycoming College women’s lacrosse players scoring multiple goals, the Lady Warriors defeated Elmira College on Tuesday, March 10 by a score of 18-3. Bri Robertson led in points, tallying five goals and one assist for six points.

Lycoming scored in the first 30 seconds to take the lead and never looked back. Midfielder Justine Titko found the back of the net, driving down the alley. Titko stuck another goal with an assist from Megan McIntyre to make the score 3-0. Christi Karr tallied three goals in just over four minutes, with Kelli Morsey assisting on her first of the day.

Other players scoring multiple goals included Sammi Jo Bell with four and Amanda Baker recording two. Titko assisted three times and McIntyre twice, while Robertson, Bell and Morsey all had one helper.

Sammi Jo BellMuch of the offensive opportunities came at the hands of the Garguilo sisters Grace and Danielle, who combined for eight caused turnovers, each recording four. Robertson led the day in groundballs, picking up four. In the net, Brittany Bryan made one save in her 49 minutes of play and Libby Stoesz made two.

Lycoming will be on the road Saturday when it travels to Madison, N.J. on Saturday March 14 for the conference opener. Game time is set for 1 p.m.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Headed to St. Marys College

Mar 7, 2009

2009 Inaugural Breast Cancer Awareness Women's Lacrosse Game Tomorrow


St. Mary's City, Md. - The 15th-ranked St. Mary's College of Maryland women's lacrosse team (3-1) will take on McDaniel College (2-0) tomorrow at 1:00 in Seahawk Stadium on PINK OUT DAY. Tomorrow's game is the inaugural Breast Cancer Awareness Lacrosse Game and the Seahawks are hoping to PINK OUT all of Seahawk Stadium. This game will be played in remembrance of Christine A. DeWitt, the mother of a player once coached by current St. Mary's head coach Kara Reber at Lycoming College, who lost her life to this disease last year as well as all individuals affected by breast cancer.

Earlier on in the year, the Seahawks sold pink St. Mary's College of Maryland lacrosse t-shirts to PINK OUT Seahawk Stadium. Tomorrow, the Seahawks will be accepting donations and doing a 50/50 raffle with all proceeds going to Climb for Hope, a division of breast cancer research that Christine believed in very strongly.

Climb for Hope was organized to raise and channel funds towards targeted and promising research in the fight against breast cancer. Its mission is to find a viable treatment for breast cancer within the next three years. In the past two years, the organization has raised over $550,000 for a vaccine being developed at Johns Hopkins University by Dr. Leisha Emens. This research will one day allow patients to successfully battle the disease using a specialized vaccine in conjunction with lower doses of chemotherapy. Not only does the vaccine address some of the most aggressive and lethal forms of breast cancer, but the research is expected to promote treatment advances for many forms of cancer as well. (www.climbforhope.com).

Youths attending tomorrow's game will also have a chance to win a deBeer's lacrosse stick at halftime as the Seahawks will sponsor a halftime shoot-out.

Lyco wins their first...

Lady Lax defeats Marywood 23-6 for first victory

- 3-7-09 -

Box Score

Bri RobertsonSCRANTON, Pa. --- The Lycoming College women’s lacrosse team picked up its first victory of the season as the Lady Warriors defeated the Marywood University Pacers by a score of 23-6. Justine Titko set the bar high with two goals and five assists for seven points on Saturday, March 7.

With the win, Lycoming improves to 1-1 on the season while Marywood falls to 0-2.

Sammi Jo Bell started off the scoring for the Warriors, putting in the first two goals. Bri Robertson assisted on the first, and Bell’s second goal came on a free-position shot. Lycoming went 5-for-5 in free positions shots on the day.

Titko picked up the first of her goals on another free position shot, putting Lycoming up 5-1. The Warriors saw every player on the field, with 13 different Lycoming players finding the back of the net. Robertson and Bell lead with four each, Grace Garguilo, Kate Isennock and Christi all scored twice. Lyz Logan, Kelli Morsey, Crystal Cody, Jackie Calbi, Amanda Baker, and Laura Carpenter found the goal once.

Grace Garguilo and Sammi Jo BellOn defense, Danielle Garguilo picked up four grounds balls and caused three turnovers. The goalies split time, with Brittany Bryan playing the first half and making six saves while Libby Stoesz played in the second 30 minutes, making five saves.

Lycoming will be back in action on Tuesday, March 10 as it hosts the Soaring Eagles of Elmira College at 4 p.m. at the Robert L. Shangraw Athletic Complex.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Lady Warriors fall in season opener to York 11-9

Box Score

Bri RobertsonAlex's lacrosse team had their first game today. A tough loss for them. She was exhausted. She was a starter and played the entire 60 minutes. Spirits are high. This game was a non-conference game.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. --- In its home opener, the Lycoming College women’s lacrosse team fell to York College of Pennsylvania by a score of 11-9 on Tuesday, March 3. The Warriors’ Bri Robertson led the team with four points on two goals and two assists.

Lycoming slips to 0-1 overall, while York picks up its first win of the season to improve to 1-3.

York started the scoring, putting in the first two goals of the game at 25:42 and again at 24:29. Sammi Jo Bell got the Warriors on the board at 24:09 on assist from Amanda Baker. Robertson tied the game 2-2, cutting to the crease and receiving a pass from Justine Titko. The Spartans scored two more goals, taking a 4-2 lead into halftime.

At the start of the second half, Lycoming rattled off three unanswered goals from Titko, Megan McIntyre and Crystal Cody, giving McIntyre the assist. The Spartans and Warriors battled, trading goals at 23:50 and 22:52, with Cody scoring her second of the day on a Robertson assist, knotting the score at six.

Danielle GargiuloThe Warriors rallied back but a five goal run by York would put the game out of reach for Lycoming. Robertson scored her second goal of the game on a free position shot and Bell scored her second on a pass from Kelli Morsey. Bell scored the final goal of the game with 28 seconds left on the clock.

As a team, Lycoming picked up 25 groundballs to York’s 20 while the Warriors’ Brittany Bryan recorded six saves. Both teams were even at the draw, each winning 11.

The Lady Warriors next game will be Saturday, March 7 when they travel to Scranton, Pa. to face the Pacers of Marywood University. Draw time is set for 1 p.m.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Alex home

Alex came home on Thursday for the weekend. She had bought tickets for her and I to go to the Caps Hockey game. We had a fun time and the seats were pretty good too!

She needed some home time and we pretty much just hung out around home while she was here. I think she misses my home cooking!

She went back on Sunday morning and is now starting her spring break! Next week is her 1st game of the season vs. York at home.

Of course today we are getting hammered with snow today. Lacrosse season starts today for all the area teams, high school and youth. I've already had to cancel our practices for tonight and of course school is closed today.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Three times for the cure!

My neighbor and good friend Cheryl is walking again this year in the Avon Breast Cancer Walk. She has walked in the past and Chris and I had gone down to DC several times to be with her during some portion of her walk. Every year this raises a huge amount of money for local research. If you can donate please go to her page located HERE. Thank you!

Three times for the cure!

Thanks for visiting my Avon Walk page. I’ve committed to participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. This will be my third year walking for the cure. I will be walking in honor of my friend Chris DeWitt who died of Breast Cancer on 9/11/2007 after a long 3 year battle.

The 2 day walk is a big commitment, but breast cancer is a big disease, one that still affects far too many people. I’ll be just one of thousands of people that will walk up to a marathon and a half over a weekend, raising awareness of the cause and educating even more people.

But, I can’t do it without your help. You may know someone who is currently fighting the battle with breast cancer, someone who has beaten it or unfortunately you may know someone who died from the disease. You can help make the biggest difference by making a donation.

Although I’m required to raise at least $1,800 in donations to participate in the 2 day walk, I plan to raise as much money as I can with your help. The money I raise will be managed and disbursed by the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade to help provide access to care for those that most need it, fund educational programs, and accelerate research into new treatments and potential cures.

Please help me reach my goal and make a difference to many lives in the Washington DC area.

We can beat this disease - together.

You can make a donation to my fundraising campaign right here on the website by clicking on "Click Here to Support Me." If you prefer to write a check, just contact me and I'll send you the information and form.

As I prepare for this exciting event, I plan to update this page frequently so that all my supporters can follow my progress, so please visit often. While you're here, you might want to spend some time on the site to find out more information on why this event is so important, and the organizations and people that will be helped by the money we all raise.

Thank you

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Lady Warrior lacrosse selected to finish fourth in preseason poll


ANNVILLE, Pa. --- The Lycoming College women’s lacrosse team has been selected to finish fourth in the 2009 Middle Atlantic Conference preseason poll that was voted on by the league’s coaches and released on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

The FDU-Florham Devils earned the top-spot in the preseason poll, earning eight first-place votes and 130 points. The Devils finished their 2008 season with a record of 16-3 after entering the first-round of the NCAA Tournament. The Devils return standout Amanda Wayne, the MAC Player of the Year and a first team IWLCA All-Region selection. She led the team with 63 goals, 23 assists and 86 points.

Elizabethtown College was voted second, earning 125 points, including four first-place votes. Messiah College was ranked third (107), while MAC newcomer Eastern University was selected fifth (100). Widener was sixth (76), while Manhattanville was selected seventh (66). King’s College (57), Misericordia (56) and Wilkes (48) were eighth through 10th. Arcadia and Alvernia universities round out the voting with 35 points apiece.

After finishing the season 9-8 overall, the Lady Warriors reached the conference semifinals and fell to top-seeded FDU-Florham. Returning for Lycoming at midfield will be junior Justine Titko, who scored 23 goals and 10 assists last season. She also led the team in groundballs (32). On defense, Lycoming returns junior Danielle Gargiulo, last year’s caused-turnover leader (17).

“We have a lot more depth at the midfield this season,” states new head coach Erica Brown. “There are always seven people on offense that can score, pass and assist. On defense, Gargiulo and Alex DeWitt bring height and Morgan Reale brings speed. Off the draw, Titko, Bri Robinson, Sammi Jo Bell, Ashley Collins and Ashley Steel are all capable of getting the draw-control. Freshman Grace Gargiulo will also be getting runs on the midfield.”

The Lady Warriors open their season on Tuesday, March 3 at home against York College of Pa. Draw time is set for 3 p.m.

2009 Middle Atlantic Conference Preseason Poll

1. FDU-Florham 130 (8)

2. Elizabethtown 125 (4)

3. Messiah 107

4. Lycoming 101

5. Eastern 100

6. Widener 76

7. Manhattanville 66

8. King's 57

9. Misericordia 56

10. Wilkes 48

11t. Arcadia 35

11t. Alvernia 35

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

New phone number

I have had 2 phone lines in my house for 10 years. The primary one 301.662.5453 was the house line and after 6 months of monitoring the usage of incoming and outgoing calls I decided that I no longer needed to pay $45 a month to have telemarketers call and hang up on me!!! It is gone. Just like that. Since I already had another number that I used primarily for work I just decided to use that for every day use as well. You can now reach me or any of the boys at:

301-662-0126
or
1-800-214-7049

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Home from a trip

This week took its toll on me. I had to go on a business trip to Detroit (joy) for 2 nights. It was the 1st time away from home like this in a year and a half. I agonized for a couple of weeks back in January about going or not. My neighbor Sharon reassured me that the boys could stay with them and to not worry about anything. She is the one that made it happen. I felt better about leaving but it was still hard.

I came back on Thursday (19th) which was my birthday. My in-laws had come by and left a present and balloon for me. I was home for an hour before having to go to the High School for a meet the coaches night for Tyler's lacrosse team. My friend/neighbors took me out to the local bar here in our development for a birthday drink. It was really nice of them to remember.

Friday I had the chance to see my good friend Marianne. She used to work for Chris at COMSTAR. She left late last year for a new job and it's been tough getting to see her. We had lunch at a great greek restaurant near her office called CAVA. It was really, really good food and we both HIGHLY recommend it.OH - While in Detroit I had breakfast with an old schoolmate from highschool. I had not seen her in 29 years!!!! She works at the airport and I was staying there. It was really nice catching up on things and truly, that was a great birthday present.

Some EXCITING news too when I got back. Michael received his acceptance letter from St. Johns Catholic Prep! We had applied for early admission and now have to make the very hard decision on whether or not he actually goes there. It's a lot of responsibility on my part getting him there and paying for it, but I have to weigh what is best for him. I know Chris would be very excited about it and it would be nice to have her here to discuss it with me. The decision is 90% mine and 10% Mike's. He's on the wall about it but I think he knows that it would be the best for him.

Any advice?

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Alex needs your help.

Alex sent out this email and I thought it would help to post it here as well.

This year at school, I have committed to participate in the Relay For Life of Lycoming College. I have learned that this year, hundreds of thousands of people will hear the words "You have cancer”. I know that some of those people could be people that I care about. Instead of being afraid of that, I have chosen to do something to fight back against this disease and I’m asking for your help.

Will you make a donation to my Relay For Life efforts? To donate online now, click on the link at the bottom of this message.

By making healthy lifestyle choices such as eating right, exercising and not smoking we can reduce the chances of getting cancer by as much as 50%! As someone I care about, I’m asking you to take up this challenge to fight back against cancer by making healthy lifestyle choices and supporting my fundraising efforts.

Thank you in advance for your support. Together, we will celebrate, remember, and fight back!

Eliminate it!

Alex DeWitt
Click here to go to her donation website.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Busy, busy, busy weekend.

Friday started the weekend off as usual. My pool team had to go to Baltimore to play in round 2 of the playoffs. We fought very hard and went down to the final match and my nephew Adam pulled it out for us and won his match, meaning that we won the overall match. The win put us into round 3 for the first time ever. We'll I got home around 1:30 AM that night and then the reward we got was that we played again the next day on Saturday!

Saturday the boys and I tooled around a little and I had to leave them home again Saturday night to go play. I hate doing that but they don't mind. I do. Anyhow, we played a fun team on Saturday but despite our best efforts we lost our best of 5 matches in the last match. We did very well for who we are and our skill level. We did not get blown out in any of our matches and walked away with a few extra $ in our pockets.

While there on Saturday, Valentine's Day, my good friend Danny and his wife came by to watch us play! It was a real surprise to see them and it gave me a boost. I was bumming out as it was.
Valentine's Day is really depressing now. Time will heal I'm sure. Here's last years post.

The nice part about losing is we did not have to go back on Sunday! So the boys and I went up to Lycoming College to visit Alex. She had a scrimmage vs. DII school Lockhaven. They lost but played very well. She played the entire game and the extra period too.

Afterwards we went out to dinner a small local Italian place. The same one her coach took us too when we went up there for a recruiting visit. It was nice to see her.

We left around 5 and ended up getting home around 8 or so. Very tired.

Today, monday, the boys and I went to the YMCA. Ty and I played racquetball and then he and Mike went to work out some and I went to the gym to play hoops. Now were all exhausted.

This week I'm going to Detroit on a business trip. It is killing me to have to go away like that. The boys are staying at a neighbors who have really reassured me that everything will be okay.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Flashback

Happened to be on Google Maps today in the Rochester area. Then started looking around and found where I used to live when I was in college at Rochester Institute of Technology. It's been almost 25 years ! We lived on the end unit on the right and my room was upstairs on the front!!!


View Larger Map

And while in Rochester I used to frequent Nick Tahou's for the late night breakfast garbage plate!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Nice haircut!


Alex's team has some new photos up on their team page. She is listed as number 25. They have a scrimmage this Sunday which the boys and I may go up to see. We haven't seen her in about 6 weeks so it'll be nice to go up for the day. WEATHER permitting!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Shooting Pool

As many of you know I play pool in a league. Have been doing this for 3 years now. It was a good way to take my mind off of things when Chris was going through treatments. We pretty much play year round and I took about 6 months off last year for obvious reasons. I play on a team with my father-in-law, 2 brothers-in-law and my nephew. There are also 3 others on the team. Each week we play another team and 5 of us play matches.

Each session we play in goes for about 12 weeks and then 4 weeks of playoffs. This year we won our playoffs and were eligible to go to the big state tournament in Baltimore. This is where ALL the winners come and have a bracket tournament. If you win 4 matches you go to Las Vegas for the Nationals... well we played our 1st bracket yesterday and won! It was tough but we were able to pull it out at the end. I shot 1st and was able to eek out a win. We were then down 2 matches to 1 and came back to win the final match in the final game with only the 8-ball left on the table! We go back for round 2 next Friday.

So to celebrate we went to another dive featured on the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives show on Food Network. This one is called Chaps. It's a mans place. Meat is the primary foodstuff there. The greatest ribs we've ever had and the best pit-beef sandwiches as well. Go there if you ever get the chance. You can't miss it, as it's right next to the Gold Club.... :)

Thursday, February 5, 2009

PINK OUT @ St. Mary's

SAVE THE DATE:

Saturday, March 7, 2009

The women’s lacrosse team at St. Mary’s College of Maryland will be holding its inaugural Breast Cancer Awareness Lacrosse Game vs. McDaniel College at 1 pm at Seahawk Stadium in beautiful St. Mary’s City.

This game will be played in remembrance of Christine A. DeWitt, the mother of a player I once coached, who lost her life to this disease last year as well as all individuals affected by breast cancer. The lacrosse team will be selling T-shirts in order to raise funds for Climb for Hope, a division of breast cancer research that Christine believed in very strongly.

Climb for Hope was organized to raise and channel funds towards targeted and promising research in the fight against breast cancer. Its mission is to find a viable treatment for breast cancer within the next three years. In the past two years, the organization has raised over $550,000 for a vaccine being developed at Johns Hopkins University by Dr. Leisha Emens. This research will one day allow patients to successfully battle the disease using a specialized vaccine in conjunction with lower doses of chemotherapy. Not only does the vaccine address some of the most aggressive and lethal forms of breast cancer, but the research is expected to promote treatment advances for many forms of cancer as well. (www.climbforhope.com).

To purchase a pink St. Mary’s women’s lacrosse T-shirt, please contact Kara Reber at klreber@smcm.edu or by phone at 240-895-3304. Shirts are $10 and come in adult S, M, L, XL, XXL. Cash donations are also welcome. Pre-sale orders are due by: February 20, 2009. There will be a few additional shirts available at the game for sale.

We would like for you to wear your pink T-shirt to our game on the 7th as we would like to have a “pink-out” of the stadium. Our goal is to raise over $3,000.00.

Please join us for this event and help support a cause that affects many of our lives.

March 7th, 2009 . . . see you at the game!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Pix from the PAST

These are some pictures that were taken at Champions in Frederick on Feb. 24, 2004. Chris and I were there with some friends and watched a great band called The Reagan Years. If you ever get a chance to see them please do. They take pictures during their shows and Chris (and I ) were captured on a few of them. You can find her with her long blonde hair!

http://www.thereaganyears.com/champ28feb04.html

Hard to believe that was just 4 years ago…

Friday, January 30, 2009

Funny from the past


This picture was taken a few years back in Deep Creek. Alex was hamming it up once again!