Mary Alice Yakutchik earned her bachelors degree in journalism in 1981 from Temple University, which she attended on a four-year full-tuition lacrosse scholarship, and her masters degree in creative writing from Temple in 1987. She was a staff feature writer for the Reading Eagle-Times (PA) from 1981-1992, and since 1984 has taught writing and journalism at Loyola, Albright, and Notre Dame of Maryland colleges. As a freelance writer/editor/photographer, her work has appeared in USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun, Detroit Free Press, and Sports Illustrated, among other newspapers and magazines. She was a contract writer for USA TODAY Sports from 1991-93. She was an assistant girls lacrosse coach at Kutztown University from 1984-86 and presently coaches youth-league girls lacrosse. Hometown: Monkton, MD