Vermont Lacrosse To Hold Catamount Classic Benefit

BURLINGTON, Vt. – The University of Vermont men's and women's lacrosse teams and the Catamount Classic will team up to help fight the battle against cancer by hosting a benefit on Wednesday at Ri Ra's Irish Pub on Church Street. The event is free to all ages and will start at 5:30 p.m. and go until 8:30 p.m.

Vermont fans can meet both the men's and women's lacrosse players and coaching staffs, enjoy free appetizers, drink specials and half-priced burgers. The teams will hand out giveaways and will be selling drawing tickets to some amazing prizes. The drawing includes a Vermont basket made up of gift certificates and prizes from some of the local sponsors and businesses. Drawing proceeds from the Vermont Benefit will be donated to Inspirational Lacrosse Families in New England, who are surviving and overcoming cancer.

The 2011 Catamount Classic - Lacrosse for a Cure is scheduled for Sunday, October 9. Sixteen Division I college lacrosse teams will face-off in scrimmages all-day on Thayer Academy's off-campus turf fields. This year eight women's teams will scrimmage throughout the morning starting at 8 a.m. and eight men's teams will take the field starting at 11:30 a.m. Event proceeds will support genitourinary and women's cancers research and care at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Genitourinary cancers include testicular, prostate, and kidney cancers.

The Catamount Classic has become the premiere fall lacrosse event for New England college lacrosse fans and teams. In 2010 the event raised more than $36,000 to support testicular cancer research and care at Dana-Farber, bringing the total event proceeds to nearly $100,000 over three years. This year proceeds will support both genitourinary and women's cancers research and care.

2011 participating teams include the women's division made up of Bryant, Boston University, Brown, Holy Cross, Iona, Siena, Connecticut and Vermont. On the men's side it will be Brown, Bryant, Holy Cross, Providence, Sacred Heart, Hartford, Massachusetts, and Vermont.