UMass Announces McMahon as New Head Coach
from press release
AMHERST, Mass. - Angela McMahon has been named the
new University of Massachusetts women's lacrosse head coach as
announced by Director of Athletics John McCutcheon on Friday, July
9. McMahon has served the last two years as the head coach at the
University of Connecticut and will replace Alexis Venechanos who
accepted the head coaching job at Ohio State.
A native of Weston, Mass., this will be McMahon's second stint with
the Minutewomen lacrosse program after she served as associate head
coach for the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
"We are thrilled to have Angela rejoin the UMass women?s lacrosse
program as our new head coach," said McCutcheon. "She was an
important piece in building the UMass program during her time here
setting the stage for the last two Atlantic 10 titles and NCAA
Tournament berth."
The Minutewomen are coming off A-10 Championship titles in 2009 and
2010. In 2009, UMass also won the A-10 regular season title and
earned its first berth to the NCAA Tournament in 25 years.
"I am thrilled and honored to return to the University of
Massachusetts. I would like to thank Athletic Director John
McCutcheon and Associate Athletic Director Dan Markowski for giving
me this amazing opportunity to lead the women's lacrosse program. I
would also like to thank UConn Athletic Director Jeff Hathaway for
my wonderful experience at Connecticut," said McMahon.
"Alexis did an amazing job of returning the program to the top of
the Atlantic 10 and to again be a nationally recognized program.
With my familiarity with the program, players, and departmental
philosophy, I know we will continue to build upon the tradition of
success Alexis and I began together four years ago."
This will be McMahon's third head coaching job after also serving
as the head coach at Division II Bentley in 2006. She joined UMass
as associate head coach in 2007 during Venechanos' first year with
the program.
McMahon, 28, posted a 12-21 overall record and a 4-11 record in the
Big East in two seasons at UConn after taking over as head coach
prior to the 2009 campaign. In her first year, the Huskies went
3-13 after the program went 1-15 the season before her arrival. In
2010, McMahon guided UConn to its first winning season since 2007
with a 9-8 overall record.
During her associate head coaching stint at UMass, McMahon was
responsible for many of the day-to-day coaching and practice
decisions along with organizing the Minutewomen's recruiting
efforts, alumnae relations and scouting. She worked primarily with
the attacks on offense. She played a crucial role in guiding UMass
to the 2008 Atlantic 10 finals for the first time in five seasons,
helping her earn a spot at the NCAA Women's Coaches Academy in
December 2008.
In addition to her coaching responsibilities with the Minutewomen,
McMahon established and coordinated a partnership between the A-10
Conference and the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, a charitable
organization created to raising public awareness regarding
pediatric brain tumors. She also directed all UMass camps, clinics
and local tournaments.
Prior to UMass, McMahon served as head coach of Bentley's women's
lacrosse program during the 2006 season. While there, she guided
the NCAA Division II Falcons to a 7-8 overall record and a
fourth-place finish in the Northeast 10 Conference. At Bentley, she
also served as a member of the Division II North Regional Lacrosse
Committee.
McMahon began her collegiate lacrosse career at UMass before
transferring to Northwestern in 2001 to help rebuild a program that
had been dormant for the previous 11 years. She spent three seasons
with the Wildcats on attack where she finished her career with 44
goals and 23 assists.
She was a two-time tri-captain of the squad that advanced to the
2004 NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time since the program
reclaimed varsity status in 2002 and helped build the foundation
for each of Northwestern's four consecutive national titles. In her
senior season, she earned Academic All-Big Ten honors, American
Lacrosse Conference Academic Honors and the Northwestern Scholastic
Achievement Award.
Since 2002, McMahon has also worked as a counselor and
administrator at a variety of lacrosse camps. During that time, she
has instructed campers of all skill levels and helped with the
organizational camp operations. In addition, she is the founder and
CEO of Destination: Hawaii, a summer training trip to Hawaii for
girls lacrosse players.
McMahon graduated from Northwestern in 2004 with a degree in
communication studies. She married Justin Serpone in the summer of
2009 and resides in Longmeadow, Mass. Serpone is the head coach of
men's soccer at Amherst College.
