Coaches

Gina Thomas (Oliver)

All-American and two-time World Champion Gina Oliver is heading into her 11th season as the head coach at the University of Cincinnati in 2023.


Thomas in May 2021 was elected as vice president of the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Association (IWLCA), which includes a three-year service term. She has mentored 16 All-Conference selections over her Bearcat tenure, including seven in 2019 and four in 2021. The former season saw her and assistants Shannon Witzel and Caitlin Prince named the AAC's Coaching Staff of the Year. Prior to the 2019 campaign, CIncinnati had just five conference postseason honors, all since 2015.


The 2023 season saw a breakthrough for the Bearcats, improving their win total by four from the previous season. Their 11 regular-season wins matched the program record from 2019 as well. Camryn Callaghan was named the AAC Freshman of the Year, UC's second since 2019, and Dani Mlkvy and Ava Goeller joined her on the AAC's First Team. Callaghan's 56 goals helped her to a USA U20 Team tryout as well. Cincinnati also earned a road overtime win at Louisville, its first-ever over the Cardinals or an ACC foe, while defeating Vanderbilt, 19-6, for its largest-ever margin of victory against the Commodores.


In 2022, the Bearcats claimed their eighth team IWLCA Academic Award out of Thomas' 10 years at the helm, while Kylie Nause was named the AAC's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Nause, en route to also earning First-Team All-AAC honors, broke the single-season school records for goals (63) and hat tricks (15). Dani Mlkvy's prowess at midfield also earned her First-Team honors, while sophomore transfer attacker Ava Goeller made the Second Team.


The Bearcats also had four All-AAC members in 2021 (Alyssa Adams, Monica Borzillo, Morgan Dukes, Sam Mlkvy) after COVID wiped out much of the 2020 season. Borzillo's career numbers reached incredible heights over her five seasons with 197 goals and 145 assists, among others.


The 2019 campaign, coming off the best season in its then-12-year program history that saw the Bearcats reach the postseason for the first time as well as finish as the runners-up in the inaugural American Athletic Conference season.


In 2018, the Bearcats strung together six wins in a row early in the year for the longest streak in program history on their way to records for wins (8) and winning percentage (.471). To get there, UC produced solid stats on both sides of the ball throughout the year, including 501 ground balls and an average of 29.47 per game, both of which led the NCAA. Offensively, the Bearcats broke single season program records for points (287), goals (201), assists (86), shots (504), shots on goal (371), man-up goals (12) and free-position goals (43). Along with their ground ball numbers, the defense also caused 187 turnovers, also a program record.


Individually, several Bearcats were solid once again, including Monica Borzillo, who was named All-BIG EAST Second Team for the second year in a row after accumulating 69 points on 42 goals and 27 assists, all of which ranked in the Top 10 of the conference. Two players recorded nearly 50 ground balls each on the year with freshman Morgan Dukes leading the way with 49 and Sam Mlkvy posting 48. Also on the defensive end, Giuliana Durso turned in a single-season record 161 saves and a 44.7 save percentage to help the Bearcats to several big wins, most notably a 17-12 win over Ohio State, the first victory in the series in program history.


UC increased its win total in 2017 and had Borzillo and Amanda Donovan named Second-Team All-BIG EAST Conference. Borzillo finished the season with 39 goals, a school-record 34 assists and 73 total points, leading the team in all categories, and ranking fourth in the BIG EAST with 2.00 assists per game, was second on the team with 33 points off 25 goals and seven assists while also ranking first in caused turnovers (28), fourth in ground balls (33) and fourth in draw controls (26).


The 2016 season saw the Bearcats double their win total from a season ago, while defender Kyara Byner became the first player in program history to earn first team All-BIG EAST honors, as well as All-Region honors from the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association.


The 2015 campaign saw a UC player earn postseason honors from the BIG EAST Conference for the first time in program history. Courtney Curtis was named second team All-BIG EAST after leading the team in goals at 37.


In 2014, Oliver coached the Bearcats to six victories, including a program record five-game winning streak that saw the team receive votes in the Brine/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll for the first time ever. This was after losing the team’s top scorer, Megan Bell, to injury in just the seventh game of the year. Five different Bearcats earned weekly honor from the BIG EAST Conference during the season, including Bell as Offensive Player of the Week and goalie Meg Gulmi as Defensive Player of the Week.


Her debut season in Cincinnati saw the 2013 Bearcats match the program record with seven wins, highlighted by the school’s first-ever BIG EAST victory over Rutgers to cap the season. Bell led the team in scoring, while Gulmi started every game as a rookie and averaged a league-best 8.88 saves per game. The win totals in 2013 and 2014 marked the best consecutive seasons in program history until the 2017-18 campaigns came along when UC won six and eight, respectively.


Oliver spent the previous five seasons at Duquesne (2008-2012) as the Dukes’ defensive coordinator, where she produced a 2012 Atlantic-10 Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. During her time at Duquesne, Oliver coached six IWLCA All-Region players, 21 all-conference honorees, 13 members of the A-10 All-Rookie Team and 12 student-athletes who won academic all-conference accolades.


A 2005 graduate of Ohio State, Oliver spent the 2006 and 2007 seasons on the Buckeyes staff, working under OSU head coach Sue Stimmel. While in Columbus, Oliver served as co-director of the Ohio State Women’s Lacrosse Camp, while also assisting with recruiting, budgeting and scholarship duties, as well as travel and team practice planning.


Oliver was one of 18 players on the U.S. Women’s National Team that won gold at the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Cup in 2013. Playing as a defender at the World Cup, Oliver recorded 10 ground balls and caused seven turnovers. The highlight came as she was named the player of the game in Team USA’s 21-8 semifinal win over England after causing three turnovers and picking-up four ground balls. It was the second FIL World Cup gold for Oliver, who also won the World Cup in June 2009 and was named to the All-World Team, which is awarded to the best 12 players in the world.


A standout midfielder at Ohio State (2002-05), Oliver was a four-year letter winner for the Buckeyes and earned All-America honors three times. During her career, she collected All-America honors from the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (second team in 2003 and third team in 2004), WomensLacrosse.com (first team in 2003 and third team in 2005) and Warrior/Inside Lacrosse (first team in 2003). She was the American Lacrosse Conference Player of the Year in 2003 as Ohio State won the American Lacrosse Conference Championship and the league’s rookie of the year in 2002. Oliver was also a four-time, First-Team All-ALC selection.


The Pottstown, Pa., native closed out her time at OSU as the program’s career leader in ground balls (236) and caused turnovers (201) and was second in draw controls (121). She also was third in career points with 166 while ranking second in goals scored (125) and sixth in assists (41).


Oliver earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Ohio State in 2005.

Haley Hardy

Haley Hardy (formerly Marvine), a member of the Bearcats' first lacrosse team and a letterwinner from 2008-11, returned to the Queen City in July 2021 as an assistant coach.


"It is truly a dream come to true to be back at the University of Cincinnati as an assistant lacrosse coach. I am grateful and excited to work under Coach Thomas, she has grown this program so well over the past 9 years and I am thrilled to be part of UC Lacrosse's next chapter. Being a Bearcat student-athlete changed my life and shaped my future, I am thrilled to be back home."


Hardy will monitor the defense and goalkeepers in her new role. She returns by way of a highly-successful head coaching stint at Radford, where she was announced as the program's first-ever head coach in October 2014. Hardy coached 14 Big South All-Conference selections as well as six All-Academic honorees including the 2020 Scholar-Athlete of the Year and 2021 Freshman of the Year (the program's first). The Highlanders have had 11 student-athletes recognized by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association and named an IWLCA Academic Squad in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.


The 2021 Highlanders ended the year winning six of their last nine games and were runners-up in the Big South Conference Tournament. Radford finished the regular season standings in third place, the highest of Hardy's tenure, and went to earn the program's first win in postseason play with a 15-14 victory over No. 2 Campbell. It was the program's first win over Campbell.


As a student-athlete, Hardy was a standout goalkeeper and team captain before earning her degree in sports management from UC in 2011.


A native of Alpharetta, Ga., Hardy's coaching experience also includes several elite camps, including the Nike Cup Syracuse Camp and high-profile on-campus camps at Notre Dame, Duke, and Georgia Tech. She also coached at the club level in the Cincinnati metropolitan area for Natilax helping grow the sport in middle and high schools.

Jamie Redding

Jamie Redding joined the Cincinnati lacrosse staff in August 2021.


Redding, who will handle offensive duties, served the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Niagara, as well as three with Holy Cross. This past spring, the Purple Eagles set a program record in goals-per-game and had the second-best winning percentage in school history. Redding was also coached MAAC Rookie of the Year Rachel Crane and a first-team all-conference attacker in Shea Swartwout.


In that stint with the Crusaders, she assumed head responsibilities while the head coach was on maternity leave in Fall 2018. She also assisted in player development, primarily on the attacking side of the ball and was involved in all operational tasks, including practice planning, film breakdown, scout generation, scheduling, camps and clinics, equipment, and recruiting. In addition, she also ran the program's Marketing Committee and Community Service Committee. Redding also helped develop two-time All-Patriot League attacker Keely Connors.


"I am excited for this opportunity to join the Cincinnati Lacrosse family," she said. "Thank you to Gina and my former boss, Wendy Stone, for their help in this process. I'm eager to start working with the team and raise the program to new heights."


Redding was a standout lacrosse player at Louisville where she was a member of the 2014 Big East Championship team. The 2014 Cardinals made it to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. As a senior, Redding earned First-Team All-Big East honors and was an IWLCA North-South Senior All-Star. She finished her career at Louisville with 44 goals and 44 assists in 67 games.


While at Louisville she excelled academically, qualifying for the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll twice. She was named to the Big East All-Academic team all four years, earned Louisville Athletic Honor Roll accolades, and graduated Magna Cum Laude as a Dean's Scholar and Red and Black Scholar.


Redding graduated in 2013 from Louisville with a degree in Exercise Science. She then pursued a master's degree in Exercise Science from Louisville and graduated in 2015. She became the head coach of the varsity lacrosse team at Ballard High School in Louisville, Kentucky. The team had a top-five state finish and were 2015 Kentucky State semifinalists.

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