April 27, 2006

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Villanova University women's track & field team highlighted the first full day of competition at the 2006 Penn Relay Carnival on Thursday, April 27 at Franklin Field. The DMR team of Frances Koons (Allentown, Pa.), Tiera Fletcher (Bronx, N.Y.), Akilah Vargas (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Marina Muncan (Pancevo, Serbia) ran 10:57.28 to win the program's first DMR Penn Relay title since 1997. Stanford was second in 10:58.72. With the victory, the Wildcats now own 10 Penn Relay DMR championships and 28 total Penn Relay titles. The 28 first place finishes are the most of any women's program in the history of the Penn Relays.

"Coming into the race, I thought we had a team that could win it. Knowing you can do it and actually doing it are two different things," said Wildcat head coach Gina Procaccio. "I am so proud of my girls. They ran a perfect race. There was nothing we could have done better."

Koons, who was making her Penn Relay debut in a Villanova uniform, ran the opening 1,200 meter leg in 3:23.00 and led most of the way before giving the baton to Fletcher just one second off the leader. Fletcher maintained the team's second place standing behind Stanford with a 400 meter spilt of 53.80.

Vargus registered a strong 800 leg in 2:08.23 and made a late surge to give anchor Marina Muncan the baton in a virtual tie with Stanford anchor Arianna Lambie. Muncan stayed on Lambie's shoulder until the final 150 meters when she raced past the Cardinal junior to win going away. Muncan's time of 4:31.85 represents a career-best anchor split for her.

"After watching my teammates run so well, I knew I had to do it for them," said Muncan of her anchor performance. "I kept telling myself to stay behind her until the last 200 and then try to pass her. After I went by her, I just sprinted to the end."

"Amazing is the only word I can use to describe how this feels," said Koons. "I am from Pennsylvania so this is a really big deal to me. "

A former Wildcat standout, Procaccio now has a DMR title as both a runner and a coach to her credit. In 1987, Procaccio ran the leadoff leg on the Villanova DMR squad that captured first place honors.

Villanova will return to the track on Friday, April 28 at 1:20 p.m. to compete in the 4 x 1500 meter relay. Koons, Vargas and Muncan are expected to be joined by senior Ioana Parusheva for the race. The Wildcat men will also compete on Friday when they are slated to run in the DMR at 3:50 p.m.

Women's DMR Final Results
1. Villanova University 10:57.28
2. Stanford 10:58.72
3. Brown 11:11.30
4. Princeton 11:12.52
5. Penn 11:17.99
6. Duke 11:18.58
7. Mississippi State 11:22.01
8. North Carolina 11:24.54
9. Georgetown 11:25.07
10. Columbia 11:25.38
11. Kentucky 11:31.79
12. Albany 11:34.20
13. Florida 12:04.60