Barring a delay in production and delivery, the Presidents' Athletic Conference expects to pay tribute this weekend to late St. Vincent women's basketball coach Kristen Zawacki, as players from its member schools begin wearing green-and-gold patches on their uniforms.
Zawacki died of an apparent heart attack on Christmas Day.
"The hope is that they'll be printed and distributed in time for Saturday, when all our teams play league games again on the same day," PAC commissioner Joe Onderko said Monday night prior to St. Vincent's first game since Zawacki's death.
In a scene eerily reminiscent of last month's La Roche-Carnegie Mellon men's game just days after La Roche coach Scott Lang died of an apparent heart attack at practice, St. Vincent resumed play at Washington & Jefferson as the teams honored Zawacki's memory.
St. Vincent (10-1, 4-0) rolled to a 72-32 victory over W&J (4-7, 2-1).
Zawacki's place on the bench was filled by former St. Vincent assistant Jimmy Petruska, who was named interim coach last week.
"Kristen taught me everything I know about the college game," said Petruska, 28, son of longtime Mars girls coach Dana Petruska, who is now at Deer Lakes.
Zawacki, a Mt. Pleasant native, was the only coach in the 27-year history of the St. Vincent women's program.
"It's a true honor to step in and take over for her," Petruska said. "I've learned so much from her. I always remember her saying, 'Trust your instincts,' and that's what I'm going to do."
Petruska, a Mars graduate who did not play basketball in college, is in his fifth season at St. Vincent, fourth as a full-time coach. He began in 2006 as a graduate assistant.
"It would have been nice (for my mom to be here)," said Jimmy Petruska, "but she's doing what she loves to do, and that's great to know."
As St. Vincent's players ran through their pregame drills last night, Petruska watched intently.
"Yes, I'm nervous," he said, emphatically. "But a lot of folks have been giving me advice, and I really appreciate it."
One, in particular, has been St. Vincent men's coach D.P. Harris, whose team lost, 71-69, over W&J last night.
"He's told me what to expect and what not to expect," Petruska said. "The administration, everyone has been great."
Harris' top assistant, former Dallas Mavericks guard Mike Iuzzolino, recalled last night a conversation he had with Zawacki in the days leading up to her death.
"We stood together and talked about Scotty Lang and what had happened to him," Iuzzolino said, shaking his head. "Who would have thought it would happen again like it did?"
Petruska said he used to attend basketball camps conducted by Lang, 41, who also attended Mars.
The St. Vincent women's team, whose players and coaches are wearing black wrist bands until the PAC's patches arrive, jumped to leads of 9-0 and 14-2 before settling for a 31-20 halftime advantage.
In the second half, the Bearcats steadily pulled away and cruised to their fourth consecutive victory.
Maria Baroffio scored 17 points, Devin McGrath added 16 and Brittany Sedlock had 13 points and 15 rebounds for St. Vincent.
