Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's soccer team hosted Team Impact member Maura Wednesday night, Sept. 20 during its South Atlantic Conference match with visiting Catawba College. Bulldog graduate student-athlete Brianna Ditillo learned about Team Impact during an NCAA leadership conference.
 
Ditillo brought the Team Impact vision to her teammates and coaches. The subsequent planning culminated in Maura joining the team as an honorary member for the 2023 season. Maura's positive attitude as she battles with acute leukemia gives the women's soccer team a new perspective on joy.
 
The Wingate University athletic communications office asked Ditillo and head coach Jack Vundum to share their thoughts on the Team Impact experience to date. A transcript of their reflections follows…
 
What They Are Saying about Team Impact
Wingate graduate student-athlete Brianna Ditillo
 
"I learned about Team Impact my junior year at Wingate when I attended the NCAA Leadership Forum in Houston, Texas. When I was at the conference, the NCAA leaders discussed Team Impact, a new concept for me. I knew we needed to bring Team Impact to our University. I immediately brought the idea to Coach Vundum and he agreed that this would be a great opportunity for our team. We put the application in for our team in 2021 and I received an email during the summer of 2023 that the organization found a Team Impact player for us…they found us Maura."
 
"Maura is the sweetest, strong, beautiful little girl. She always has a smile on her face at practice and around the girls. Maura is eight years old facing acute leukemia. She just finished her most intense round of chemotherapy last week and is now in a maintenance for the next few weeks. Our team is very blessed to have her a part of our family."
 
"Maura brings so much joy and light to everyone when she is around. She has taught our team so much…she has taught us to be stronger and more passionate and to play for something so much bigger than ourselves. We play for Maura! We will always fight for and with Maura every step of her journey. We know she will always be there for us!" 
 
Wingate women's soccer head coach Jack Vundum
 
"Our team captain, Brianna Ditillo, became aware of a fantastic organization named Team Impact after attending an NCAA Leadership Convention in Houston, Texas. Team Impact matches children fighting a serious illness with college athletics' teams, in turn creating lifelong relationships for all involved."
 
"Just recently our team learned about an incredibly brave and resilient young girl called Maura. Maura has just recently turned eight years old and is in the last month of intensive treatment in her challenging journey with acute leukemia. Since signing with our program, Maura has inspired us all to be fearless, brave and most importantly, to always have fun. She brings such great energy and a big smile wherever she goes. Maura has also shown us how to celebrate our goals with a cartwheel, although we might need some more work on our technique - we enjoy celebrating with her in this way."
 
"The team is behind Maura and her fight against leukemia. We are so happy that we were able to have Maura join our program as she has already been such a huge positive influence on us. We love you, Maura…Go Bulldogs!"
 
Wingate University
 
Wingate University is a lab of difference-making that serves more than 3,400 students in North Carolina and offers 60 degree pathways, including 37 undergraduate majors, 10 pre-professional tracks and five dual-degree programs. Graduate students choose from seven master's and five doctoral programs. The University is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences, the Levine College of Health Sciences, the Byrum School of Business, the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences.
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a leader in healthcare education where nearly one in five undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Student-athletes on Wingate's 25 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award the past 15 times it has been awarded. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.
 
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