WEST CHESTER, PA – Former legendary field hockey and lacrosse head coach, Vonnie Gros, passed away earlier this week. She was 90 years old.
A pioneer for women's athletics in two different sports long before Title IX attempted to equal the playing field for women, Gros left an indelible mark on the athletic world in both South Jersey and Chester County. A Palmyra High School three-sport star, Gros attended Ursinus College upon graduation, where she became an All-American in both field hockey and lacrosse for the Bears. She eventually joined the U.S. national team in both sports, spending 13 years in the U.S. Field Hockey program and 10 in the U.S. Lacrosse program after graduating from Ursinus College.
Gros came to West Chester University in 1964 to coach both the field hockey and lacrosse teams. She stayed through the 1976 season, winning two Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national championships in field hockey with the Golden Rams in 1975 and 1976, while setting the foundation for two more to follow in 1977 and 1978. Her field hockey teams ran up an overall record of 100-7-16. From 1964 to 1973, she served as head coach of the school's lacrosse team as well carving out a career won-loss record of 37-5-4 in those 10 years.
After leaving West Chester University to coach at Princeton University, Gros took over the reins of the U.S. Field Hockey program and won a bronze medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles – the only medal a field hockey team has ever won at the Olympics. She holds membership in a plethora of halls of fame, including both the field hockey and lacrosse halls of fame, and the field hockey/women's lacrosse stadium on the campus of West Chester University bears her name. Back in South Jersey, she was named one of Burlington County's Top 100 athletes of the Century in 2000.
Preliminary discussions are under way for a celebration of life at Vonnie Gros Field on the campus of West Chester University in the spring.
