William Smith College Lacrosse Head Coach
Pat Genovese is one of eight legends of the sport that will be enshrined in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, US Lacrosse announced today. The Class of 2009 will be inducted in a ceremony, sponsored by Bollinger Insurance, on Nov. 7 at The Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Md.
The Class of 2009 also includes Todd Curry (player), Jeffrey J. Long (player), Kevin Lowe (player), Mark Millon (player), Cherie Greer Brown (player), Jennifer Miller O’Donnell (official) and Jessica Wilk Strosberg (player).
The three-time NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year is the only person to stand at the helm of the Heron lacrosse program. No collegiate lacrosse coach (men’s or women’s) has more wins than Genovese who boasts a career mark of 362-133-1 record (.731).
“This is a great tribute to Pat for her tremendous contributions to lacrosse,” William Smith Director of Athletics Deb Steward said. “While her career win total is impressive, it’s her mentorship of thousands of Heron student-athletes, on and off the field, and the positive influence she has had on their growth that defines her as a truly great coach.”
“The ripple effect of Pat’s coaching spreads throughout the lacrosse world as many of her former players have gone on to coach lacrosse at the youth, club, high school, and collegiate level.”
Genovese’s many protégées include Colorado College Head Coach Susan Stuart Elliott ’89, Rensselaer Head Coach Leslie Khachadourian DeLano ’00, and Smith College Head Coach Wendy Walker ’98.
Genovese has tutored 94 All-Americans, while seven of her charges have earned the prestigious National Player of the Year Award. She has led the Herons to 16 NCAA Tournament berths, advancing to the national semifinals 11 times and the national championship game five times. William Smith also has two ECAC regional tournament championships to its credit (1985, 2001).
Independent until 2001, Genovese’s teams have won three Liberty League regular season championships and two Liberty League Tournament titles over the past eight years. Only once in that time has William Smith finished out of the top three in the league. Genovese was named the Liberty League Coach of the Year in 2003 and again in 2006. Her 2009 team was 11-4 overall (6-2 in the Liberty League) and ranked 13th in the nation.
A magna cum laude graduate of Cortland, Genovese earned a master’s degree from Ithaca. She was inducted into the Cortland “C” Club Hall of Fame in 1990, the Rochester/Western New York Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1998, the William Smith Athletics Hall of Honor in 1999, and the Green Mountain College Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2007, Genovese received the NYSWCAA Service Award for her contributions to women’s athletics.