Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/6/26
The lacrosse and field hockey communities are mourning the passing of field hockey and lacrosse coaching legend Vonnie Gros, 90.
Vonnie, an Ursinus College graduate who also taught and coached at Upper Darby, excelled as a field hockey and lacrosse coach at West Chester and Ursinus.
After Vonnie arrived at Ursinus in the mid-50s, she embarked on one of the school’s most celebrated athletic careers. In 1957, she was named the first All-American in both field hockey and lacrosse. She then played on the United States National Field Hockey Team for 13 years, and the National Lacrosse team for 10 years after graduating from Ursinus.
But she would go on to make an even greater name for herself as a coach. At West Chester University, she coached the field hockey team to a 118-6-13 record. She also coached the lacrosse team, helping develop, among others, standouts such as Tina Sloan Green (won three national championships as a coach at Temple) and Cindy Timchal (now coaching at Navy after winning eight national titles at Maryland). Vonnie also coached field hockey at Princeton University.
In 1984, Vonnie led the U.S. Women’s National Team to a bronze medal at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games.
Ursinus still plays on a field named for Gros.
She was named to the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2002, the Montgomery County Coaches Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Chester County Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
The 1953 Palmyra High School graduate passed away on Feb. 28. Details of a May memorial celebration in her adopted hometown of West Chester are still being finalized.
