STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - The Wagner College women's golf team will host the Vanessa Picciotto Perrine Memorial Intercollegiate on Wednesday, October 12, Trump National Golf Club in Colts Neck, New Jersey.

The annual memorial tournament is held annually to honor the 2003 Wagner College graduate and former golfer, who tragically passed away in 2012. The tournament was first held in the spring of 2018 and has been played three times since then; scheduling conflicts brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic caused a brief two-year hiatus, but this year's event will resume what has been an annual installment on the Seahawks' schedule.

Vanessa, who was born in Staten Island and raised in Holmdel, New Jersey, competed on the Seahawk women's golf team during all four of her years on Grymes Hill (1999-2003), and received a B.S. degree in Arts Administration in 2003.

Following her graduation, she furthered her education in London, earning a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Fine and Decorative Art from Sotheby's Institute of Art. After returning to the United States, Vanessa's love of art led her to the Chetkin Gallery in her new hometown of Red Bank, New Jersey, where she served as an Associate Director. With her father, Vincent, she later co-founded the Hubbard Park Real Estate and Insurance Agency.

In October, 2012, Vanessa and her husband, Charles Perrine, were expecting their first child when, late in the pregnancy, she experienced major complications. It was eventually determined that Vanessa was suffering from preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, most often the liver and kidneys. After slipping into a coma, Vanessa and her unborn son heartbreakingly passed away on October 28, 2012.

In addition to raising funds for the tournament, Vanessa's mother, Linda, and her father, Vincent, are hopeful that this tournament can be a vehicle to help spread awareness for preeclampsia, a common and serious complication that can occur late in pregnancy.

For information on how to support the annual Vanessa Picciotto Perrine Memorial Intercollegiate, please contact Chris Aliano at 718-420-4008, or via email at christopher.aliano@wagner.edu.