University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Names Northwestern Assistant
August 25, 2006 | Women's Lacrosse
Aug. 25, 2006
Friday, August 25, 2006 By JEFF THOMAS jthomas@repub.com
The new women's lacrosse coach at the University of Massachusetts knows a thing or two about national championships.
Alexis Venechanos, who has won NCAA championships as a player and an assistant coach, was hired yesterday by UMass to replace Carrie Bolduc, who resigned last month.
Venechanos, 25, comes to Amherst from Northwestern where she has been the top assistant for the last three years. The Wildcats were 20-1 this spring and won their second consecutive national title, defeating Dartmouth 7-4 at Boston University's Nickerson Field.
"When you're able to get someone who's coming off three years with a program that has won the national championship twice, that combined with the fact that a lot of their recruiting was done in our area were real strong components of her background for us," UMass director of athletics John McCutcheon said.
Northwestern had a 56-4 record in Venechanos's three years at Evanston, Ill., winning the Division I national title in 2005 and 2006.
The Wildcats' roster this spring included 13 players from the Northeast, including five from Massachusetts and one from Connecticut.
"I am extremely honored to be a part of University of Massachusetts family," Venechanos said. "I would like to thank Athletic Director John McCutcheon and Senior Associate Athletic Director Thorr Bjorn for this incredible opportunity.
"The support and vision of the Athletic Department, along with the rich tradition makes it a very special place to be involved with," the Yorktown, N.Y., native added.
"I look forward to working hard to bring the UMass women's lacrosse team back to the national prominence. With my background as a coach at Northwestern and as a player at Maryland, I have experienced winning at the highest level and look forward to bringing my knowledge to UMass."
Venechanos came to Northwestern after a stellar career at Maryland. She was a three-year starter in goal for the Terrapins. She helped Maryland to national championships in 2000 and 2001 and was awarded the Ensign C. Markland Kelly Award in 2003 as the nation's best goalie.
The Terps were 73-15 in her four years at College Park, Md., including a perfect season in 2001 that saw them post a 23-0 record.
At Northwestern, Venechanos was responsible for the goaltending and defense, which was one of the best in the nation. She was also the recruiting coordinator for the Wildcats.
"We have goals for the program to be competitive on the national level and now we have the person at the helm that has that kind of experience," McCutcheon said.
The UMass women's lacrosse program has not had a winning season since 2003, when Bolduc coached the team to an 10-9 mark in her first season.
The Minutewomen were 7-11 in the spring and just 18-33 over the last three years. UMass has not been to the NCAA tournament since 1984.
The UMass men's team, on the other hand, reached the NCAA Division I final last season where it lost to Virginia. The Minutemen are a perennial power and frequent participant in the NCAA tournament.
Venechanos inherits a team that loses just three seniors from the spring, but will only have four seniors in 2007.