Groveston Named First GVSU Head Coach
from press releases
ALLENDALE, Mich. - Grand Valley State Director of
Athletics, Tim Selgo, announced today that Alicia Groveston will be
the first-ever head women's lacrosse coach at Grand Valley State.
GVSU, which announced that it would be adding women's lacrosse as
the 20th varsity sport on September 15, will begin play as an
independent in the spring of 2012. Groveston, who most recently was
the head women's lacrosse coach at Gannon University in Erie, Pa.
will begin her duties at Grand Valley State February 1.
"We are excited to have Alicia lead our women's lacrosse program at
Grand Valley State," said Selgo. "We had outstanding candidates
interested in leading our program and Alicia rose to the top of
that group. We were extremely impressed with her knowledge of the
game and her enthusiastic approach to recruiting," added Selgo.
Groveston led Gannon to a 12-4 record during the 2009 campaign and
a final Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association
(IWLCA) ranking of No. 8. The Knights finished 5-3 in the
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), but failed to make
the PSAC Tournament on a tie-breaker. In addition to an outstanding
season on the field, Gannon's 2009 lacrosse team earned the IWLCA
Merit Award for having the second-best team GPA (3.34) in DII
lacrosse.
"I am extremely honored and privileged to join Grand Valley State
University and lead the women's lacrosse program," said Groveston.
"It is an exciting time in women's lacrosse and I am excited to
build this program from the ground up and increase the awareness of
women's lacrosse in the Midwest," added Groveston.
Prior to her arrival at Gannon, Groveston spent the 2008 season as
an assistant for Belmont Abbey. The Crusaders posted a 12-7 record,
including a 7-4 conference mark against Conference Carolina
opponents. The squad was also nationally-ranked throughout the
season in the IWLCA Top 10 poll. Groveston, an Academic
All-American at Salisbury, spent three years prior to coaching at
Belmont Abbey in private business.
She started her coaching career as an assistant coach at Stephen
Decatur High School in Berlin, Md., for two seasons where she
coached two All-Americans there and helped guide Decatur to the
regional championship.
The Annapolis, Md., native had a stellar playing career at Hartwick
for two seasons, before transferring to Salisbury for her final two
years of eligibility. Groveston played field hockey and lacrosse
while at Hartwick. At Salisbury, she earned all-conference and
regional all-america honors as a senior defender.
In the process, she led Salisbury to an NCAA Regional Championship
appearance. Groveston also earned Academic All-Conference and
Academic All-America honors as a senior. She graduated magna cum
laude from Salisbury in 2003 with a degree in Communication
Arts/Mass Media. Groveston later received her MBA from Salisbury in
2004, graduating cum laude.
