Elizabeth "Flere" Powell Bomba graduated from F&M with adegree in classics. As a student, Powell Bomba was a living exampleof the Greek tradition that empahized a combination of strong mindand strong body. During her four-year career, she played fieldhockey, basketball, squash, and lacrosse. In field hockey, she wasa defensive specialist and was well known for her athletic abilityand running speed. While defensive players usually lack sparklingstatistics, her impact on the team was unmistakable. She was namedteam captain and MVP twice, leading the team to the Penn Mar titlein 1976 and the MAC title 1977.
Powell Bomba's participation on the lacrosse team was morevisible. In 1976, the first varsity season for women's lacrosse(5-5-1 record), she was a one-person scoring machine with 37 goals.She was selected to the All-Philadelphia Colleges fifth team, whichcompeted in the U.S. Women's Lacrosse Association (USWLA) nationaltournament hosted by Swarthmore College. In 1977, the team recordimproved to 7-4, with Powell Bomba scoring 22 goals. She was onceagain chosen to participate in the USWLA tournament at BrownUniversity. Her team went undefeated and won its divisionchampionship. According to F&M coach Martha Swope, "Flereplayed beautifully throughout the entire weekend, displaying speed,skill, and most importantly, tremendous desire and team spirit."She scored five goals in five games.
At that time, there was not a national championship tournamentfor collegians and the USWLA tournament was as high as a womancould go short of the national team. In 1978, F&M went 6-3-1,with Powell Bomba scoring 15 goals. She was chosen for the USWLAtournament for the third consecutive year. She played on thebasketball team in 1975 and 1976, then picked up squash for 1977and 1978. She was named the "Outstanding Senior Athlere Woman" in1978. Following graduation, Powell Bomba became a certified nuclearmedicine technologist. She and her husband live in Denver, Pa.,where she looks after their children and coaches the field hockeyteam at Ephrata Junior High School.
