Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt Athletics
McGugin Center - 2601 Jess Neely Dr Nashville, TN 37212

Division 1 Tennessee Southeast

Private Large National competitor

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Coaches

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Beth Hewitt

Beth Hewitt will be in her sixth season at the helm of the Vanderbilt lacrosse program in 2024. Hewitt, who has built a reputation for forging success at programs in transitional phases, served as the program’s associate head coach from 2014-18.

Hewitt led the Commodores to double-digit wins in 2022 for the third time in her first four years. Vandy claimed a win over No. 12 Notre Dame and advanced to the American Athletic Conference title game for the first time in program history.

In a shortened 2020 season, Vanderbilt boasted its first win over a top 10 opponent in six years, and in her first season at the helm, Hewitt helped guide the Commodores to a 10-6 record in 2019—the program’s first winning season in nine years. In addition, Vanderbilt tied a school record with seven all-conference selections.

The 2021 season marked another breakthrough as Hewitt led the Commodores to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010.

Hewitt received her first head coaching job in 2009 before turning 30 as she was handed the reins of a Le Moyne program amidst a reclassification process. During her first season in 2010, the Dolphins were an independent in Division I and finished 9-6. The next season, Le Moyne shifted to Division II and Hewitt quickly made the Dolphins a national power.

During her five seasons at Le Moyne, Hewitt compiled an impressive record of 71-20 (.789) with a 43-5 (.896) mark in Northeast-10 Conference action. Hewitt guided the Dolphins to two Final Fours, three NCAA Tournaments, two Northeast-10 regular season championships and conference tournament titles. During a three-year stretch from 2011-13, the Dolphins were 50-8 with at least 16 wins each year and did not lose more than three games in a season. In 2011, the New York native led Le Moyne to a school-record 18 wins and its first trip to the Final Four.

After graduating from North Carolina with a degree in communication studies, Hewitt helped launch Oregon’s lacrosse program in 2005. She spent three years at Oregon, holding the title of defensive coordinator in addition to helping recruit the program’s first recruiting classes. Hewitt also earned a master’s degree in educational leadership during her time in Eugene.

An All-American and All-ACC selection during her college career as a midfielder at North Carolina, Hewitt led the Tar Heels to a conference title and an NCAA Final Four appearance. She led the Tar Heels in scoring in each of her final two seasons.

Hewitt has also worked extensively with Ameriprise Financial as a recruiter, Harrow Sports Inc. in the field of consulting, and with Brine in the area of marketing and sales.

Beth has two children, her daughter, Keegan, and son, Kaden.

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Jill Doherty

Jill Doherty is in her fifth season in 2023 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at her alma mater.

Doherty works closely with the midfielders and coordinates Vanderbilt’s strong defensive front. In her first full season on the sidelines in 2019, the Commodores finished No. 4 in the nation in caused turnovers and No. 6 in the NCAA in ground balls. Under Doherty’s coaching, Melissa Hawkins (2018-22) finished second in school history in caused turnovers and fifth in ground balls.

One of Vanderbilt’s most decorated athletes, Doherty played in the black and gold from 2014-17 and finished her career ranked among Vanderbilt’s all-time best in the school record books: second in assists (84), seventh in points (175) and third in draw controls (163).

Doherty began her time at Vanderbilt in 2013 as a member of a top-10 recruiting class. The Reading, Massachusetts, native majored in human and organizational development and graduated in 2017 as a four-year starter and senior captain for the Commodores.

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Sophie Leva

A native of Macedon, New York, Leva joins the coaching staff from Binghamton where she served as an assistant coach during the 2023 season.

In 2023, Leva helped lead Binghamton to its first playoff victory in the America East semifinals against Vermont, 12-10. The Bearcats’ record-breaking season included its first-ever America East Championship game appearance, best conference record (5-1) and tournament seed (No. 2), most overall wins (11) and most consecutive wins (7). It also was filled with individual honors with Emily Manning named the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year and a record eight Bearcats earning all-conference honors (three first-team, five second-team).

Before Binghamton, Leva was at Indianapolis, where she was a graduate assistant for the Division ll national champion Greyhounds. In her first year of coaching, Leva helped guide the Greyhounds to a 22-1 record, finishing the season with 17 straight wins and a national championship. With her guidance, the Greyhounds ended the season with a .510 save percentage and 5.57 goals against average.

Prior to her stop in Indiana, Leva was a goalie for four years at Marquette. A part of the Golden Eagle record books, Leva is the all-time leader in save percentage (.461), is third in career saves (245) and sits second for wins in a single season (7). Leva earned second-team All-BIG EAST recognition in 2021 after a career-best seven wins in net along with 134 saves. As a co-captain, she led the BIG EAST in saves, saves per game (8.25) and save percentage (.482) among goalies who played 10 or more games.

Leva obtained a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology from Marquette in 2021. She was named to the BIG EAST All-Academic team three times during her career as well as the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Academic Honor Squad her senior season.

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Emily Talluto

Emily Talluto joined the Vanderbilt coaching staff as an assistant coach on January 2023.

Talluto came to Vandy from Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania. She served as the defensive coordinator and helped guide the program to a five-win improvement from 2021 to the 2022 season with three student-athletes earning all-conference honors.

While at Arcadia, Talluto specialized in practice planning, skill building, scouting reports and film breakdown along with social media and content creation.

In addition to her coaching role, Talluto also worked as a marketing assistant for the HEADstrong Foundation, handling communication between lacrosse clubs and the organization.

A native of West Chester, Pennsylvania, Talluto attended La Salle University and was a member of the lacrosse team from 2016-21. A team co-captain, she exemplified leadership on and off the field, starting all 14 games as a graduate after starting all 16 as a junior for the Explorers.

She earned Dean’s List honors and was named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. Talluto was a member of the 2017 squad that made it to the A-10 title match.