Coaches

Julika Blankenship

Julika Blankenship was introduced as the second lacrosse head coach in Winthrop program history in June of 2016.


In 2019, the Eagles finished with a 8-11 overall record and a Big South Conference championship appearance. The team lost to High Point for the second consecutive year, 17-10. Mia Creighton was named Big South Freshman of the Year, while sophomore Lauren Morris and senior Emily Torris earned All-Conference First Team honors. Creighton also earned All-Conference Second Team honors along with senior goalie Alaina Girani. Freshman Lauren Asher earned All-Conference Honorable Mention honors, while sophomore Olivia Deaver was named to the All-Academic Team.


The 2018 campaign ended in Winthrop making a trip to the Big South Conference championship for the first time under Blankenship. The Eagles finished the season 14-6 overall and lost to High Point, 18-7, in the title game. Senior Nicole Beatson was named the 2018 Big South Offensive Player of the Year, while also earning All-Conference First Team honors. Senior Katherine Judge, who was also named the Big South Conference Women of the Year, and redshirt junior Alaina Girani also earned All-Conference First Team honors. Senior Kristen Shriver was named to the All-Conference Second Team and senior Jordyn Elliot earned All-Academic Team honors.


In her first year as head coach, Blankenship led Winthrop to a 9-10 overall record. The Eagles saw their season come to the end in the Big South Conference semifinals to Campbell. Nicole Beatson, Katherine Judge and Paige Jenkins all earned All-Conference First Team honors, while Kristen Shriver was named to the All-Conference First Team. Judge also earned All-Academic Team honors.

The Winthrop lacrosse team was named an Academic Honor Squad for the 2016-2017 academic year while eight Eagles earned Division I Honor Roll recognitions from the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA).


Blankenship has amassed a 31-27 overall record, appearing in the Big South Conference championship game twice. She has coached eight players to All-Conference First Team honors, five to All-Conference Second Team honors, one All-Academic and one All-Conference honorable mention. In 2018, Nicole Beatson was named Big South Offensive Player of the Year and in 2019, Mia Creighton was named Big South Freshman of the Year.


Blankenship joins the Eagle program from Queens University in Charlotte where she coached the Royals for three seasons. Queens flourished under Blankenship, winning three consecutive South Atlantic Conference Tournament titles and making the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2016 which included a first-round victory and appearance in the Elite Eight. In three years at the helm of the Royals, Blankenship compiled a 44-12 overall record and a perfect 22-0 conference record. She was twice named the South Atlantic Coach of the Year and her squad earned a top 15 ranking each of her three seasons.


Prior to her stint at Queens, Blankenship guided the women's lacrosse program at Washington College in Maryland for five seasons, amassing a 49-32 overall record. She started her collegiate coaching career at University of California-Davis where she was an assistant coach for one year.


As a student-athlete, Blankenship had a standout career at Gettysburg College. She finished her career as the all-time leader in both points and assists. As a senior captain, she led the Bullets to their third consecutive Centennial Conference Championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals in 2004. She was named a first team All-American by the IWLCA/US Lacrosse, Inside Lacrosse, and Womenslacrosse.com and was selected as the Centennial Conference and ECAC Southern Player of the Year. Blankenship, who was also a second team Inside Lacrosse All-American as a junior, put up back-to-back 100-point seasons in her final two years with the Bullets, breaking the single-season school record for assists in each of those seasons.


Blankenship earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish from Gettysburg College in 2004 and earned a master's degree in psychology from Washington College in 2008.