Meredith Simon Joins Cal Women's Lacrosse Staff
from press release
BERKELEY – Meredith Simon joined the
California lacrosse staff as an assistant coach, head coach Theresa
Sherry announced on Tuesday. Simon previously coached at Notre
Dame, her alma mater, at which she earned All-America and All-Big
East honors during her collegiate playing career (2001-04).
Simon coached for the past three seasons under head coach Tracy
Coyne at Notre Dame. Prior to that, she coached under Missy Doherty
at Towson for three years. She will work with Cal's attack and
goaltenders while assisting with recruiting and day-to-day office
operations.
"I’m really happy to have her here, with her experience and
the levels she’s been coaching at," said Sherry, who played
at Princeton when Doherty was an assistant coach for the Tigers. "I
think she’s going to offer a lot to our team. Meredith has
both played in the NCAAs and coached in them, so she’s
competed at the highest level as a coach and as a player."
"I’ve always felt that Cal has a lot to offer and could take
that next step,” Simon said. "When I was still in college, we
played each other every year, either at Notre Dame or out here. And
then when I was coaching at Notre Dame, we played them. I’d
always felt that they were really athletic and up and coming. Now
that they have Theresa and a young staff, they are energetic and
are poised to raise the level of the program."
During Simon’s tenure in South Bend, Ind., Notre Dame turned
in a 39-19 record, won the 2009 Big East title and advanced to the
NCAA Tournament all three years. In that time, she helped develop
All-American attack standouts – Jillian Byers and Gina
Scioscia – and All-American midfielders Caitlin McKinney '08
and Shaylyn Blaney. The 2009 team set school records for goals,
assists and points.
As a player at Notre Dame, the Flemington, N.J., native was the
program's first, first-team IWLCA All-American in 2004. A two-time,
first team all-Big East selection (2003, 2004), Simon was the 2004
Big East co-attack player of the year and was a member of the
program's first two NCAA Tournament teams. She finished her career
with 109 goals, 49 assists and 158 points. She currently ranks
sixth in goals, eighth in assists and seventh on the all-time
points list.
Simon replaces former Cal assistant Julia Southard, who had served
as a member of Sherry’s staff for three years. As with
Southward and Nikki Lieb, Cal’s second-year assistant coach,
Simon played against Sherry and the latter’s Princeton team
during their college days. The Tigers defeated the Irish, 11-5, in
the 2002 NCAA Tournament quarterfinal round, with Simon scoring two
goals.
