April 19, 2005

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - It was a miraculous showing of support as over 100 Terrapin student-athletes participated in Relay For Life, an American Cancer Society fundraising event, this past weekend. The 12-hour walk-a-thon held at Ludwig Field began on Friday, April 15 at 6 p.m. and concluded on Saturday, April 16 at 6 a.m.

The Terrapin student-athlete relay team was comprised of members from almost every varsity sport on campus and represented the largest group at the event. Women's basketball, women's track, and both men's and women's swimming each had over twelve members participate in the event. The Terps' relay team captain and senior swimmer Tim Potter was extremely impressed with the turnout.

"When I organized this event I expected to get a few interested people to participate. The fact that we were able to recruit 100 enthusiastic athletes to come together for a great cause is incredible," said Potter.

Relay For Life is an annual event held across the country to increase the awareness of cancer, help raise money to fund curative research project, and celebrate those who have overcome the disease. Various clubs and organizations at Maryland have participated in the event for years. This year marks the athletic department's first time being involved in the event.

Gloria Friedgen, Coach Ralph Friedgen's wife, attended the event and gave a short speech before the Lumanria ceremony. During the Lumanria, student-athletes had the chance to light a candle in memory of someone close to them who passed from cancer. All-ACC swimmer Gigi deToll recently lost her grandfather and was thankful to have the opportunity to honor him during the ceremony.

"It's a great way for everyone to pay their respects to those who lost the battle to cancer, and hopefully it puts us one step closer to making a change and finding a cure," said deToll. "The Terrapin Student-Athletes should be proud to be a part of that."

So far, the University of Maryland has raised over $60,000, largely surpassing last year's fundraising total. The team of Terp student-athletes has contributed over $3,000 to that total and is currently the fifth-highest team in fundraising dollars. According to the latest Relay For Life statistics, the University sits atop the ACC standings and is in the top ten nationwide.

While Relay For Life has already passed, it is not too late to contribute to this great cause. You can make a secure donation online by visiting the following site and clicking our team name Terrapin Athletes: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~tspotter/RelayForLife.htm.

Questions about the Relay For Life can be directed to Laura Meckley in the Academic Support & Career Development Unit at lmeckley@umd.edu.