CMass natives give three cheers for Patriots

Brianna Munoz, Athena Lazo, Jessica Thompson on squad
By Jennifer Toland
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
8/22/2011

Based on the Patriots’ first two preseason games, it seems like there will be a lot to cheer about at Gillette Stadium this year. For Central Mass. natives Brianna Munoz, Athena Lazo and Jessica Thompson that will definitely be the case.

Munoz, of Worcester, and Lazo, who grew up in Southbridge and resides in Worcester, and Thompson, of Hopedale, were selected to the 2011 Patriots cheerleading squad. They survived two rounds of auditions and several weeks of cheerleader boot camp — “It was grueling,” Lazo said — to make the 31-member team.

More than 300 women tried out, so Munoz, Lazo and Thompson are part of a select group.
Munoz, 21, is a rookie on the squad. A graduate of St. Peter-Marian, Munoz is a junior at Providence College, where she is a biology and chemistry major. She would like to become a dentist.

“You can see a person’s self-esteem and confidence from their smile,” said Munoz, who has a pretty dazzling one herself.

Munoz has a background in dance — she’s been at it since she was 2 and is a member of the PC dance company — and, at the suggestion of her roommate, recently began modeling. She was a semifinalist in this year’s Miss Massachusetts pageant.

Lazo, 23, is back for her second season as a Patriots cheerleader.

“It is great being around 30 other positive and uplifting women,” Lazo said.

A graduate of Shepherd Hill Regional, Lazo is attending Worcester State this fall and, in the spring, will return to Morrisville (N.Y.) State, where she will be a senior. Last season, she “commuted” a total of 1,200 miles from Morrisville to Foxboro for Patriots home games and to other locations in the area for public appearances. Lazo, who also has a background in dance, is studying journalism.

Lazo is following in the footsteps of her mom, Renee, who was a Patriots cheerleader in 1984.

Thompson, also a rookie on the squad, is a nursing student at the University of Connecticut, whose goal is to become an active duty officer in the United States Army Nurse Corps.

The Patriots play their home opener Sept. 18, but fans in Central Mass. can meet the Pats cheerleaders before then. They’ll make a guest appearance at Clinton Olde Home Day, from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 9, at Clinton Town Hall.

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Pettway a Celtics Dancer
Meanwhile, Malaysia Pettway of Worcester will be one of the Celtics Dancers in 2011-12.

Pettway, 19, a 2010 South High graduate who attends Worcester State, made it through two tryout sessions this summer, one in June and the finals in July, to be selected to the 21-woman squad.

“The auditions were definitely a long process, and I was very nervous,” Pettway said. “I feel as this isn’t real. This is going to be a great experience for me, and I’m very excited to be part of the Celtics team.”

Pettway is set to join her new team in September, providing the NBA lockout has been resolved by then.

Pettway is the daughter of North High basketball coach Al Pettway.