Manhattanville University Athletics

Anne (Driesse) Villanova was a four-year member of the Valiant field hockey squad. She played forward, anchoring the team’s front line, and served as a two-year captain. Driesse played the role of facilitator on the field, setting up many scoring plays throughout her career.

In the spring, Driesse also helped create and was a four-year member and captain of the Manhattanville club softball team. Her efforts with the club team eventually helped lead to the creation of the varsity softball program, which began in the 1982 season. On the field, she starred as a standout pitcher for the Valiants. As a sophomore, Driesse led the team to the NYSAIAW Tournament and earned All-Tournament Team honors.

As a senior, Driesse was selected as The Touchstone’s Female Athlete of the Year.

In addition to her contributions on the playing surface, she spent much of her Valiant career as a student trainer, becoming the head student trainer in her latter years. Not only did she serve as trainer for her own teams, but she also assisted in sports medicine responsibilities with the other varsity programs, while helping other students become trainers.