Temple University Athletics
Team TUFF ® Captain Feature
4.25.13 | Football
On May 12, team TUFF ® [Temple University Football Family] will participate in the 2013 Komen Philadelphia Race for the Cure. This week the four team captains—Cathy Bongiovi, Evan Regas, Julie Rhule, and Matt Rhule—will share their stories why this cause is so important.
Evan's Mom— Susan Untoria
by Cathy Bongiovi
Last fall offensive lineman Evan Regas had more on his mind than football or classes. Two weeks into the fall semester he lost his mother Susan Untoria to breast cancer.
“My mother was a great role model for me. She was one of the toughest people I knew,” Regas said. “She always had a smile on her face and was just loving life. And no matter what the situation was, she made the best of it. I just try to emulate how she lived her life. Whenever something bad happened, she always found something good to be happy about. She was always the optimistic one who enjoyed life.”
Perhaps that optimism, along with his teammates, helped Regas get by. An only child, Regas relied on his 104 Owl brothers.
“My teammates have been the ones to hold me up,” he shared.
Susan's battle had been long and painful. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2009 as Regas was graduating from high school.
“First she had a double mastectomy in August 2009 during training camp,” Regas recalled. “Coach (Golden) let me go up there for the night. After the double mastectomy, she had radiation treatment and chemotherapy for about year after that. She also had reconstructive surgery.”
Susan soon went into remission for the first time. But her success was short lived.
“It came back, and it had spread to her liver,” he shared. “And it was stage 4, triple negative breast cancer. So it was pretty aggressive, but they caught it early. They did more chemo.”
In August 2012, the cancer reappeared a third time.
“It was inoperable, and it spread to her chest and into her femur and her neck,” Regas said.
Evan's Mom— Susan Untoria
by Cathy Bongiovi
Last fall offensive lineman Evan Regas had more on his mind than football or classes. Two weeks into the fall semester he lost his mother Susan Untoria to breast cancer.
“My mother was a great role model for me. She was one of the toughest people I knew,” Regas said. “She always had a smile on her face and was just loving life. And no matter what the situation was, she made the best of it. I just try to emulate how she lived her life. Whenever something bad happened, she always found something good to be happy about. She was always the optimistic one who enjoyed life.”
Perhaps that optimism, along with his teammates, helped Regas get by. An only child, Regas relied on his 104 Owl brothers.
“My teammates have been the ones to hold me up,” he shared.
Susan's battle had been long and painful. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2009 as Regas was graduating from high school.
“First she had a double mastectomy in August 2009 during training camp,” Regas recalled. “Coach (Golden) let me go up there for the night. After the double mastectomy, she had radiation treatment and chemotherapy for about year after that. She also had reconstructive surgery.”
Susan soon went into remission for the first time. But her success was short lived.
“It came back, and it had spread to her liver,” he shared. “And it was stage 4, triple negative breast cancer. So it was pretty aggressive, but they caught it early. They did more chemo.”
In August 2012, the cancer reappeared a third time.
“It was inoperable, and it spread to her chest and into her femur and her neck,” Regas said.
The fiery redhead lost her fight on Sept. 15.
“She was stubborn,” Regas reminisced. “She made sure she did things the right way. She just loved everything about life. She loved helping out people. She was a youth center director for a few years. She counseled young people with problems, drug problems, drinking problems … that's who she was.”
The Toms River, N.J., native will always cherish his memories of his mother. Regas is also very close to his father George and his stepfather Arnie who married Susan in 2009 before her diagnosis.
“He's an awesome guy. He was with her throughout her ordeal, all the way to the end.”
Back on campus, Regas' brothers became his support system.
“I remember when she passed, I came back to get my suit. I stayed here for hours longer than I thought I was going to, just to hang out with them,' he
said. “During the wake, I was so excited to see them. They are my brothers. They stuck with me.”
And they are sticking by him again this spring. In May, on Mother's Day, Regas and 14 of his teammates will participate in the one-mile fun walk as part of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Philadelphia.
“This is awesome,” he said.
In addition to fundraising for mammograms and breast cancer research, Regas wants to spread his mother's message.
“I really just want people to make sure they get checked out,” he said. “The first time you're supposed to get checked out is age 40. My mother got it the year before. When she went back on her 40th, they said if she had never gotten it (before), they would have never even thought about it, because it wasn't big on the mammogram. It was just a speck. You have to be proactive about things like this. That would be the same message she would be telling people. I just want people to know.”
This fall Regas will enter his fifth and final season with the Cherry & White after receiving his degree in kinesiology in August. He will have his 104 brothers and his mother on his side.
* * *
To join team TUFF ® or to make a donation, visit our team page:
http://rfcphl.convio.net/site/TR/Race/RacefortheCure?team_id=52781&pg=team&fr_id=1080
The Toms River, N.J., native will always cherish his memories of his mother. Regas is also very close to his father George and his stepfather Arnie who married Susan in 2009 before her diagnosis.
“He's an awesome guy. He was with her throughout her ordeal, all the way to the end.”
Back on campus, Regas' brothers became his support system.
“I remember when she passed, I came back to get my suit. I stayed here for hours longer than I thought I was going to, just to hang out with them,' he
And they are sticking by him again this spring. In May, on Mother's Day, Regas and 14 of his teammates will participate in the one-mile fun walk as part of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Philadelphia.
“This is awesome,” he said.
In addition to fundraising for mammograms and breast cancer research, Regas wants to spread his mother's message.
“I really just want people to make sure they get checked out,” he said. “The first time you're supposed to get checked out is age 40. My mother got it the year before. When she went back on her 40th, they said if she had never gotten it (before), they would have never even thought about it, because it wasn't big on the mammogram. It was just a speck. You have to be proactive about things like this. That would be the same message she would be telling people. I just want people to know.”
This fall Regas will enter his fifth and final season with the Cherry & White after receiving his degree in kinesiology in August. He will have his 104 brothers and his mother on his side.
* * *
To join team TUFF ® or to make a donation, visit our team page:
http://rfcphl.convio.net/site/TR/Race/RacefortheCure?team_id=52781&pg=team&fr_id=1080
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