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Kate Athing
Head coach Kate Athing enters her 11th season at the helm of the Marymount women's lacrosse program in 2025, while being a part of the Saints program since 2010. Prior to her role as the head coach, she served as the assistant for four seasons. She is the sixth head coach in program history and has amassed an overall record of 102-64.
As the Saints head coach, Athing has coached 18 All-Atlantic East Conference and eight All-Capital Athletic Conference award winners, including two three-time All-CAC second-team selections in Abby Wescott and Liah Agouras.
The 2024 season proved to be a historic one for Athing, as she led the team back to the Atlantic East Championship, sporting an 11-7 overall record, 5-1 in conference play. The Saints hosted the AEC Semifinals on their home turf at Long Bridge Park, overpowering Marywood by a final score of 19-2 to head back to the finals. She secured her 100th career win as a head coach in front of the home crowd over Marywood during the regular season.
After completion of the season, Marymount placed six Saints on AEC All-Conference Teams, three on the First Team under Athing's guidance. Riley Love, Tess Valentino, and Abby Dunn each were honored with First Team selections alongside Bailey Gehler, Taylor Chepren, and Hannah Smith garnering Second Team honors.
A staggering 20 members of the women's lacrosse team earned spots on the Atlantic East All-Academic Team, with Abby Dunn, Megan Edens, and Hannah Smith also garnering College Sports Communicators Academic All-District.
In 2023, Athing placed two on the All-AEC First Team, Emily Peters and Sydney Clifford, alongside three on the Second Team: Riley Love, Megan Edens, and Abby Dunn. The team finished 12-7 overall on the season, 4-2 in conference play.
In 2022, Athing coached both the Atlantic East Rookie of the Year and Atlantic East Defensive Players of the Year in Taylor Chepren and Caitlyn Dunn. Dunn’s award was the first of its kind for the program. Caitlyn Dunn and Sarah Agrillo were named to the IWLCA Senior All-Star Roster after the 2022 season under Athing's leadership. Rounding out major award winners in 2022, Emily Peters earned the Atlantic East Conference Medal of Inspiration which was the second winner under Athing's guidance.
As a team under Athing's leadership off the field, the 2022 Saints women's lacrosse team garnered the IWLCA Community Awareness Award after being heavily involved in various community outreach programs during the academic year. This award is given to one team in each division who has the most impact on their campus and community through their service to others. This award was another first of its kind for the program.
The 2021 season was a banner campaign for MU, as Athing guided the program to its first-ever conference title game. Marymount romped through its schedule with a 7-3 overall record and a 5-1 mark in Atlantic East play. After they earned a bye in the opening round of the Atlantic East Tournament, the Saints dispatched Marywood University, 16-8, to reach the championship.
Athing coached Sarah Agrillo, Emily Peters, and Madison Noble to the All-Conference First Team, while Riley Love and Sydney Clifford landed on the Second Team. Athing's leadership resulted in herself, and her staff being named the Atlantic East Conference Coaching Staff of the Year.
The Saints were off to a stellar start in 2020 prior to the season being shuddered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as Athing guided the team to an undefeated mark of 7-0.
Under Athing's watch, Maegan Gagnon became the second Marymount student-athlete to earn the Atlantic East Medal of Inspiration.
In 2019, Athing guided the program through the first year of the Atlantic East Conference, finishing the season 13-8 (4-2 Atlantic East), tying the program record for wins in a season. The team earned a berth into the Atlantic East tournament and a fourth-straight trip to the ECAC championship tournament. The team advanced to the semifinal round in both tournaments, giving the Saints their fourth-straight appearance in the ECAC semifinals. She coached Jessica Crew and Bridgette Stacom to first-team All-Atlantic East selections, while Holly Reik and Caroline Wolford were named to the second team.
In 2018, Athing led the Saints to an appearance in the CAC tournament, along with a trip back to the ECAC semifinals. The team finished the year with a 10-10 record, marking the third-straight season with double-digit wins.
The 2017 season finished with the Saints claiming the ECAC Division III Championship, with an 11-3 win over Misericordia University on May 14 for the program's first ECAC Championship. Marymount posted a 13-6 record on the year, marking the most single season wins in program history.
The Saints concluded a program-setting 2016 campaign with a 10-9 record and made an appearance in the CAC playoffs. For the first time in school history, the squad earned a bid to the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championship and played into the second round. Athing had a trio of Saints earn All-Conference honors and helped lead the team to its first over .500 season since 2003. A part of their win total raised a new program record, sporting a seven-game win streak that spanned over three weeks.
Athing joined the Saints staff after a four-year playing career at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania. A four-year starter for the Crimson Hawks, Athing was named to the All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference team as a senior captain in 2010. She garnered Defensive Player of the Season accolades as a junior and senior and was also selected to the IWLCA Senior All-Star Team. A standout in the classroom as well, Athing earned PSAC Scholar-Athlete Recognition all four years with the Crimson Hawks.
Athing graduated from IUP in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in Education. She completed her masters of education in English as a second language instruction at Marymount in 2012. During her time in the graduate program, she served as the education department’s graduate assistant.
Athing was a part of the inaugural class for the Presidential Leadership Program, "A first-of-its-kind program at the institution which aims to further develop the leadership skills of manager-level employees."
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