Quinnipiac University

Hamden, CT 06518

Connecticut Northeast

Private Medium Developing team

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Tanya Kotowicz

anya Kotowicz enters her seventh season as the Quinnipiac women's lacrosse head coach in 2022-23.

During the 2022 campaign, the Bobcats had the MAAC's best defense by total goals, allowing 197 on the campaign. They were led by All-MAAC second team goalkeeper Kat Henselder, who led the league in saves per game (10.44) and was second in both goals-against average (12.11) and save percentage (.476).

Quinnipiac's defenders clamped down on opposing offenses as well, finishing with the second-most caused turnovers per contest in the 2022 campaign at 8.88.

The Bobcats won three of their first four contests to begin the 2022 campaign, including a 13-12 victory over Patriot League foe, Boston University.

The All-MAAC 2021 campaign saw the Bobcats lead the league in points per game on the offensive end, finishing with 19.58 per contest. They were also second in assists per game (5.83) and third in scoring offense (13.75).

Quinnipiac earned three, all-league selections in Megan Szawlowski, Sophia Iaccino and Julia Steneck. Maddie Noel and Kalie Moore joined Steneck on the MAAC's All-Rookie team.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the 2020 spring season, Kotowicz and the Bobcats posted three wins, including a 16-11 victory against Old Dominion, the program's first win against a BIG EAST opponent. Again the Bobcats brought in a first year class that made an immediate impact. Midfielder Desiree Kleberg was named MAAC Rookie of the Year twice, and midfielder Sophia Iaccino won the award once.

In 2019, the Bobcats won five games and two in the MAAC. Quinnipiac brought in a successful first year class, which included midfielders Gabby Beckett and Maddie Deegan. Both were named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team for their first campaigns in Hamden. The Bobcats also led the nation in IWLCA Zag Sports Academic Honor Roll selections with 14.

Quinnipiac continued to improve under Kotowicz's watch in 2018, finishing the season with five wins (one more than her first season with the team). One of the bright spots of the season was Kiera Kelly being crowned the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, Quinnipiac's first major award winner since joining the MAAC. Kelly was also a two-time All-ECAC First Team selection and led the nation with 60 caused turnovers.

In her first season with the team, the Bobcats put together their most-successful season in years as she led the program to four wins (all by one-goal margins) including the team's first MAAC Tournament appearance since joining the league in 2013-14. Despite being picked to finish last in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, Kotowicz guided a team that had won just four conference games in their first three seasons in the MAAC (2014-16) to a 3-5 league record in 2017 and the No. 6 seed in the 2017 MAAC Tournament. Her team overcame three-goal second half deficits to win three times in 2017 while she helped guide Kiera Kelly to become the program's first-ever All-ECAC First Team honoree.

Kotowicz came to Quinnipiac with a wealth of NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse coaching experience, most recently as the head coach at Central Connecticut State University for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Before being hired as CCSU’s head coach, Kotowicz was the first assistant at Yale from 2012 through 2014 and Hofstra from 2008 through 2012. Before taking the position at Hofstra, Kotowicz was the head coach at Quinnipiac’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference foe Marist in 2008 and an assistant at Saint Mary’s College of California from 2006 to 2008.

While at Central Connecticut State, Kotowicz’s program featured eight All-Northeast Conference players, including five last season. In her first season, the Blue Devil defense led the NEC allowing only eight goals per game in conference games. In addition, Kotowicz’s Blue Devils were honored as an IWLCA Division I NCAA Academic Honor Squad in 2015 and 2016 and this past season they featured 17 NEC Spring Academic Honor Roll selections.

Prior to her stint at CCSU, Kotowicz helped Yale’s program double its winning percentage over a two-year period while also coordinating the Ivy League’s top scoring defense in 2014. Kotowicz’s recruiting class at Yale included five All-Americans and one All-American honorable mention. At Hofstra, Kotowicz was part of the coaching staff of a Pride program that ranked in the Top 20 in the IWLCA National Polls in 2010 and 2011 while also featuring a pair of Regional and National All-Americans in 2008 and 2011. In addition, Kotowicz helped develop two student-athletes who were selected to participate as members of the United States National Team in 2009 and 2011.

In her only season as the head coach at Marist, Kotowicz led the Red Foxes to the program’s first MAAC Championship and first NCAA Tournament appearance. She assumed the role after serving as an assistant at Marist in 2005 and 2006.

Kotowicz has also been involved with England’s National Team, as a team selector, as well as an assistant coach with the MAAC All-Star Team that traveled to Japan in 2006 and the USA Athletes International Team in Australia in 2010. In 2013, she competed with Team Germany at the FIL Women’s Lacrosse World Cup.

A native of Hicksville, N.Y., Kotowicz was a two-time team captain in 2004 and 2005 at the University of Connecticut, leading the program to an ECAC Championship in 2005 as the Huskies ranked 15th in the country. She was a four-time BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete and four-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star at UConn. She currently holds a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies from UConn and a master’s degree in physical education from Hofstra. This past summer she served as assistant general manager for the Long Island Sound, helping the team win the inaugural United Women’s Lacrosse League Championship.

Kotowicz earned a Master's Degree in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac in 2020.

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Jordan Christopher

Jordan Christopher enters her seventh season as an assistant coach at Quinnipiac in 2022-23. Christopher previously served as an assistant for head coach Tanya Kotowicz at Central Connecticut State University from 2014 through the 2016 season.

The Bobcats started the 2022 campaign hot, winning three of their first four, capped by a 13-12 victory over Patriot League foe Boston University. QU's offense was fourth in generating chances, averaging 31.19 shots and 22.06 shots on goal per contest during the year.

Under Christopher's guidance during the 2021 campaign, the Bobcats' offense led the MAAC leaderboards by averaging 19.58 points per game. They were also second in assists per contest (5.83) and third in goals per game (13.75), led by all-conference selections Megan Szawlowski and Sophia Iaccino.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the 2020 spring season, the Bobcats won three games and defeated their first BIG EAST opponent in Old Dominon with Christopher as assistant coach.

Quinnipiac posted a five win campaign in 2019 under Christopher's watch as an assistant coach, as well as two MAAC victories.

Quinnipiac improved in its second under Christopher's leadership as an assistant coach, picking up five wins on the season.

In her first season at Quinnipiac, Christopher helped lead the Bobcats to a four-win 2017 season and the program's first-ever appearance in the MAAC Tournament.

Christopher was part of the CCSU coaching staff that developed two All-Northeast Conference First Team and five All-NEC Second Team selections, as well as two All-Rookie Team honorees from 2014 through 2016. Under Christopher’s guidance, CCSU featured 13 NEC Spring Academic Honor Roll members as well as eight Travelers Athletic Directors All-Academic Team selections. In addition to posting the highest cumulative grade-point average in program history, the Blue Devils were also named a IWLCA Division I Academic Honor Squad in 2015 and 2016.

In addition to her role at Central Connecticut State, Christopher also served as the head coach with the Philly Blast Lacrosse Club team from 2012 to 2014 and the Nor’easter Lacrosse Club team from 2014 to the present.

A four-year letter winner at UConn, Christopher was a two-time captain in 2013 and 2014. A BIG EAST All-Academic selection, she also served on the Women’s Lacrosse Leadership Council in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, she was also part of the first team in UConn women’s lacrosse history to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Christopher graduated from UConn with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology in 2014. She earned her Master's in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac in 2020.

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Allyson Baribault

Quinnipiac Women's Lacrosse and head coach Tanya Kotowicz have announced the addition of Allyson Baribault to their coaching staff.

Baribault comes from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and DEWlax, joining the Bobcats' staff beginning with the upcoming 2024 campaign.

"I would like to express my gratitude to Tanya and Jordan for warmly welcoming me into their program," Baribault said. "I am thrilled to be returning to Connecticut and being closer to my family. Furthermore, I am incredibly excited to join the Quinnipiac Women's Lacrosse team and contribute towards our shared goal of winning championships both on and off the field."

She also served as the head coach at SUNY Oneonta after assisting at Post, Plymouth State and Wesleyan.

Baribault was a five-year member of the Plymouth State lacrosse program, serving as the captain in her senior campaign.

In addition to her coaching experience, she served as a two-year member of the NCAA DIII Regional Ranking committee and was a site rep for the NCAA Division III Lacrosse Tournament for each of the past two seasons.

She joins a Bobcat program that is on the rise, earning its first, double-digit win season since 2011. The squad earned a berth in the conference semifinals for the first time as a member of the MAAC and had five players selected to MAAC All-League teams, including the conference's goalkeeper and rookie of the year.

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Mason Poli

Mason Poli, a former standout lacrosse player at Bryant University, enters his 10th season with the Quinnipiac coaching staff in 2023-2024 – and his sixth at the helm of the program.

After serving as an assistant for the Bobcats’ program for four seasons (2015-18), Poli was elevated to Interim Head Coach for the 2019 season. He was then named Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach on May 10, 2019, becoming the Bobcats’ sixth head coach in program history and third at the Division I level.

In 2019 as Interim Head Coach, Poli led Quinnipiac men’s lacrosse to a 9-7 (5-2 MAAC) record and the program's third-ever appearance in the MAAC Tournament championship contest. Quinnipiac recorded a winning MAAC record for the fourth time in six seasons since joining the conference in 2013-14, earning a No. 2 seed in the postseason tournament.

Poli led all first-year Division I head coaches in total wins (9) and winning percentage (.562) in 2019.

The Bobcats earned five All-MAAC awards following the completion of the 2019 regular season. Sophomore Jake Tomsik and freshman Will Abbott earned spots on the All-MAAC First Team, senior Foster Cuomo was named to the All-MAAC Second Team, and the trio of Abbott, Nick DiMuccio and Demitri George were named to the All-Rookie Team.

Poli then wrapped up his second season as the Bobcats' Head Coach in 2020. Quinnipiac’s season was cut short after just six games due to the COVID-19 virus. The Bobcats did not play a MAAC contest in 2020.

The Bobcats went 4-3 (4-2 MAAC) in 2021 under Poli to earn the title of MAAC Co-Regular Season Champions. Quinnipiac finished the spring campaign with a 4-2 league record, winning three straight home games at the QU Lacrosse Stadium in Hamden from April 7-17. QU defeated St. Bonaventure on the road on March 27, then downed Siena, Manhattan and Canisius in MAAC play in Hamden during the month of April.

Under the guidance of Poli, Quinnipiac finished the year ranked No. 12 nationally in scoring defense – allowing just 10.0 goals per game. QU also won 72.3 percent of all face-off attempts during the 2021 season, finishing No. 2 nationally.

Demitri George finished second nationally in face-off winning percentage (74.2%), earning MAAC Face-Off Specialist of the Year. Dylan Donnery also captured MAAC Rookie of the Year honors after leading the program in scoring with 13 goals and 15 points. Five Bobcats earned All-MAAC status in 2021 under Poli’s tutelage. George was named to the All-MAAC First Team, Jake Tellers earned a spot on the All-MAAC Second Team, and Donnery, Steven Germain and Evan Perry earned All-Rookie status.

Quinnipiac then went 2-11 (1-5 in 2022). The Bobcats defeated UMass Lowell in the season-opener, and also defeated Canisius in MAAC action.

Demitri George was named MAAC Face-Off Specialist of the Year for the second consecutive season under Poli in 2022. The Bobcats also placed three midfielders on the All-MAAC Team. Sophomore Steven Germain earned All-MAAC First Team honors, while junior Jake Tellers and senior Will Abbott were named to the All-MAAC Second Team. QU finished above .500 for the third time in five years under Poli. QU finished the regular season as the league's top scoring offense (12.62 goals per game), and also rank No. 1 in the MAAC in assists per game (7.69 APG).

Quinnipiac went 7-6 overall, finishing above .500 for the third time in five years under Head Coach Mason Poli in 2023. The Bobcats have reached the postseason three time's in Poli's five season as Head Coach. QU finished the regular season as the league's top scoring offense (12.62 goals per game), and also rank No. 1 in the MAAC in assists per game (7.69 APG).

Poli served as an assistant coach for the Bobcats' program for four years, working as the team's defensive coordinator. He was also responsible for scouting, skill development, recruiting and academics.

Poli enjoyed a four-year stint with the Bulldogs which came to a close in 2013, after which, Poli was drafted by the Charlotte Hounds of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) with their fourth round pick. Poli’s success on the field continued as he led the MLL in longpole scoring with six goals, three two-point goals, and one assist for 10 points in 2014. In his rookie season, Poli helped the Hounds to a second-place finish in the MLL standings.

While at Bryant, Poli compiled one of the most decorated longpole lacrosse careers in NCAA history. Poli led the nation in longpole scoring in both his junior and senior seasons, leading to a pair of Tewaaraton Semifinalist Awards. Poli was named USILA Honorable Mention All-American in 2011, 2012 and 2013, while being named to the NEILA All-New England and Northeast Conference First Teams those same years.

In addition to his playing experience, Poli brought significant coaching knowledge to Hamden as well. In 2014, Poli served as a volunteer coach at Richmond University and was also a camp counselor at both the Army and Navy Lacrosse camps. Poli first started coaching at the Freedom Lacrosse Club in Pennsylvania, where he was an associate coach for five summer club teams.

Poli graduated from Bryant in 2013 with a degree in business administration and a concentration in finance. He was also a double minor in psychology and communications.