Bridgewater College

Bridgewater, VA 22812

Virginia Northeast

Private Small Developing team

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Coaches

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Ashley Hughes

Bridgewater College announced Ashley Hughes as the Eagles' new head women's lacrosse coach in the summer of 2021 and will begin her third season in 2023-24.

Hughes guided the Eagles to a 10-9 record in 2023 to give the program its first winning season since 2018. Bridgewater also rallied for a 14-12 win on home turf in the ODAC Tournament First Round to give the program its first home postseason win in over 30 years. Hughes led a pair of players to the All-ODAC listings as Lauren Roberts and Kaity Petersheim each repeated as all-conference performers.

In her first season with Bridgewater, Hughes saw the team make it back to the ODAC Tournament for the first time since 2018. Her first win with the program came with a 15-7 victory against Goucher at the Jopson Athletic Complex.

Hughes came to BC having won 72 games in 11 seasons as a head coach at the Division II and III levels. She joined Bridgewater from her alma mater Allegheny College, where she became the program's all-time winningest coach with a mark of 61-52.

She led the Gators to four North Coast Athletic Conference playoff appearances- in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018. The 2015 squad recorded the best single season record in program history with a final mark of 15-2.

Hughes coached 12 IWLCA All-Region selections and 29 All-NCAC honorees, including three individuals who finished their careers as Allegheny's top record holders.

She was also the head coach at Saint Michael's College in Vermont, a member of the NCAA Division II Northeast-10 Conference, from 2011-13. She led the 2013 Purple Knights to the program's highest win total since 2008.

Prior to taking the helm at Saint Michael's, Hughes served as an assistant lacrosse and soccer coach for Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont during the 2009-10 academic year. She began her coaching career during the 2009 season as an assistant at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y.

Hughes played both lacrosse and soccer at Allegheny, graduating as the lacrosse program's all-time leader in goals (125), assists (54), and points (179). A member of the NCAC All-Decade Team, she was a two-time second team All-Region selection, four-time All-NCAC honoree including three first team selections, and made two NCAC All-Tournament squads.

A two-time lacrosse team captain, she was also an honorable mention All-NCAC soccer player. She earned her bachelor's degree in mathematics from Allegheny in 2008 and a master's of education in school leadership from Saint Michael's in 2018.

Hughes has also served on the NCAA Regional Ranking Committee and IWLCA All-Region Player Committee, along with numerous campus groups.

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Ciara Burud

Ciara Burud is in her first year as an assistant women's lacrosse coach at Bridgewater College.

Burud joined BC from The University of Findlay, where she played five seasons from 2017-21 and won a Great Midwest Athletic Conference championship in 2019. She was a three-time first team G-MAC All-Conference selection and an honorable mention All-GLIAC honoree as a freshman, along with earning second team All-Midwest Region recognition in 2019.

For her career, she totaled 199 goals, 66 assists, 265 points, 184 ground balls, 195 draw controls and 109 caused turnovers. She ranks second in school history in caused turnovers, draw controls and ground balls, third in goals and points, and fifth in assists and games played.

Burud was a two-time team captain and a member of Findlay's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (S.A.A.C.). She was also a five-time conference Player of the Week and a three-time Academic All-Conference honoree.

She was an assistant coach with Red Hook High School in New York in 2021, and has also coached in her home state with Dutchess Monarchs Lacrosse and as a private instructor.

Burud also gained experience as a Facilities and Event intern at Vassar College in the summer of 2019. She attended the 2021 NCAA Inclusion Forum, the 2020 US Center for Safesport Training and the 2019 Sports Marketing Association Conference.

She earned a bachelor's degree in sports business strategy from Findlay in 2020 and is completing a master's degree in education and human resource development.

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Mic Grant

Mic Grant begins his 11th season at the helm of the Bridgewater College men's lacrosse program during the 2023 season.

In 2022, the Eagles finished sixth in the ODAC and earned the right to host the ODAC Tournament First Round game, which was the first postseason men's lacrosse game played at the Jopson Athletic Complex. The team enjoyed a record-breaking season as the single-season goal, assist and ground ball marks were all shattered midway through the year before five players claimed All-ODAC laurels.

Bridgewater reached the ODAC semifinals for the first time ever in 2021, beating Roanoke in the first round of the playoffs. The Eagles had an All-American for the third straight year (attack Eric Husselbaugh), their first USILA Senior All-Star Game participant (midfielder Justin Calabrese) and earned six total selections to the All-ODAC squad. Grant also won his 100th career game during the regular season.

In 2020, the Eagles featured an honorable mention All-American at faceoff (Mason Gauntt), while Eric Husselbaugh was an Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-American and both players made the VaSID All-State team.

Bridgewater finished with new program best records overall (13-5) and in conference (6-4) in 2019, qualifying for the ODAC postseason for the second straight time. The program featured its first USILA All-American (sophomore attack Eric Husselbaugh), first All-Region selection (senior LSM Jake Truman), and earned four All-ODAC selections.

The Eagles made the ODAC playoffs for the first time in 2018, leading into the second quarter of a competitive 11-5 loss to #17 Roanoke in the opening round. The team went 9-8, a new program mark for victories and the first winning season for the squad. Senior Blake Mann was an All-ODAC selection and was the first men's lacrosse player to achieve numerous awards, including ODAC Scholar-Athlete, CoSIDA Academic All-District, and National Team of the Week.

Bridgewater continued to set milestones in its fifth season in 2017, earning its first two All-ODAC selections in Jake Truman and Chris Voorhees, and winning three conference games for the first time.

Bridgewater won a program-record seven games in 2016, including a road victory over fifth-place ODAC squad Virginia Wesleyan. The Eagles had two road victories in conference play for the first time, and graduated their first full Senior class of 13 players.

In 2015, Bridgewater won multiple conference games and earned its first ODAC road win with a 16-8 triumph at Randolph.

During the 2013 season, the Eagles earned five total wins including the program's first conference victory with a 10-8 win over Shenandoah. The Eagles also won their inaugural game.

On June 13, 2011 Bridgewater College Director of Athletics Curt Kendall announced the hiring of Grant as the college's first head men's lacrosse coach.

Prior to starting the Bridgewater program, Grant spent five years and four seasons at Marywood University where he built the program from the ground up. Leading the program since its inception in 2008, Grant posted an impressive 41-24 overall record including a 20-6 conference mark over the past four seasons including a berth in the conference playoffs every season.

The 2008 Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) Coach of the Year led the Pacers to an impressive 9-5 (5-3 PAC) finish during their inaugural campaign and followed with a remarkable 2009 season that saw the team earn a CSAC Runner-Up finish after completing conference play with an impressive 5-1 record while reaching 10 wins overall. The 2010 squad posted a school-record 11 wins and qualified for the CSAC playoffs with a 5-1 mark in conference play. In 2011, Marywood again won 11 contests and went 5-1 in the CSAC, recorded their second CSAC Runner-Up finish in three years, and earned the program's first-ever ECAC Tournament bid.

Prior to his time at Marywood, Grant was on the staff at Division I Virginia Military Institute (VMI). After serving as assistant coach for four years at VMI, Coach Grant was promoted to Associate Head Coach in 2001, taking on additional responsibilities as recruitment coordinator. Under his direction, VMI experienced significant growth in their Lacrosse program with respect to both size and ability. Coach Grant served as defensive coordinator for the VMI Keydets throughout his tenure with the team.

A native of Charlottesville, Virginia, Grant captained the lacrosse squad at Hampden-Sydney College in 1991 during his senior season. He played his first two seasons of collegiate lacrosse at Ohio Wesleyan University. While there, he was a member of the Battling Bishops' 1988 and 1989 NCAA Division III National Finalist teams.

Grant and his wife Heather (Bridgewater's Associate Director of Athletics) are the parents of twins Will and Olivia and youngest daughter Sadie.