General 3/27/2017 3:45:00 PM Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Daemen Celebration Of National Girls & Women In Sports Week Set

Guest Speakers On Campus Include Boston College Hall of Famer & Four-Time U.S. Paralympian

AMHERST, N.Y. - Former Boston College basketball player Kathy Sweet and U.S. Paralympian April Holmes will headline a pair of events on the campus of Daemen College during the Athletic Department's celebration of National Girls and Women In Sports Week which is set for April 3-8. In addition to the events on campus, Daemen Athletics' administrators and student-athletes will partake in two off-campus events which are included in the week's activities.

Sweet will be on hand for the week's kickoff event, slated for Tuesday, April 4 at 7 p.m. in the Premier Center Cabaret at MusicalFare Theatre, located on the college's campus at 4380 Main Street. A member of the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame induction class of 2004, Sweet was a two-time All-Big East Conference selection and the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year during her career as a Division I basketball player in the mid-1980's. Now a partner in the firm of Gibson, McAskills, Crosby, LLP in Buffalo, Sweet will discuss the role athletics has played in her life.

Holmes is slated to speak at the week's celebration event on Friday, April 7 at 12 p.m. inside Lumsden Gymnasium. Considered one of the world's fastest female amputees, Holmes won gold in the 100-meter dash at the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. The former Norfolk State University sprinter is expected to speak about how she turned to athletics during a time of personal tragedy, and how that led her to where she is today.

"We are thrilled to be bringing two great speakers to campus for this week-long celebration. I thought we really set the bar high last year with U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Olympian Elana Meyers Taylor, but we've hit another home run with Kathy and April agreeing to join us this time around," said Bridget Niland, director of athletics at Daemen. "Both are great ambassadors for the advancement of girls and women in sports, and I believe our student-athletes and invited guests will take a lot out of their respective addresses. I'm looking forward to seeing them here on campus."

In addition to the two events on campus, Niland and several of Daemen's female athletics administrators will travel to New York City on Wednesday, April 5 for the East Coast Conference Senior Woman Administrator Professional Series. The workshop begins that day at 1:30 p.m. on the Manhattan campus of N.Y. Institute of Technology at 16 West 61st Street, and it features Jill Wilson, president of Double L Consulting, and Kristen Matha, associate director of academic and membership affairs for the NCAA, as well as a special presentation led by members of the Hence Family Foundation Facilitators. The theme for the event is "Creating A Pathway - Getting To The Next Level".

Lastly, on Saturday, April 8 Daemen's female student-athletes will participate in the Western New York Girls in Sports Service Day at Alumni Arena on the campus of the University at Buffalo. A collaborative effort between Daemen, UB and the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, the WNY Girls in Sports Service Day brings area youths in contact with collegiate student-athletes for a day of instruction, competition and fun, all aimed at promoting the power and positive influence that sports can play in the lives of young people.

For more than 30 years, the National Girls and Women in Sports celebration has empowered women and girls to embrace physical activities and push past their limits in sports and life.

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