Levy Named Head Coach Of U.S. National Team

SPARKS, MD. — Jenny Levy, the two-time NCAA champion women's lacrosse coach at the University of North Carolina, has been named as the head coach for the U.S. women's national team. US Lacrosse made the announcement on Thursday afternoon.

"I am extremely excited about the opportunity to lead the U.S. National Team program for the next three-and-a-half years," Levy says. "It is an unbelievable honor and one I have thought about for many years. I want to thank UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham, women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance, my husband, Dan Levy, and my Carolina lacrosse staff for their support, encouragement and their counsel.

"I had to consider the impact this would have on my family and the Carolina Lacrosse program, both of which I have incredible responsibility and love for. Without the support of my home team and my work team, this would not have been a possibility."

"Jenny is an outstanding selection as head coach of Team USA," says UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham. "She's a two-time national champion who built our program from day one. Jenny blends a fiery, competitive nature with great communication skills, which leads to positive relationships with her players. She has a strong passion to develop the sport at all levels and will do an outstanding job in the international game."

Levy is excited for the support of the Carolina Athletics community throughout the process.

"When I first approached Bubba with the potential opportunity to go through the process of applying to be the next head coach for the U.S. Women's National Team, without pause, he said, 'Go for it, strong female leadership is needed in all areas of sports,'" Levy says.

"I next called Anson seeking his perspective and council on the matter, his immediate response was, 'This is great, you have an opportunity to be a national leader in the sport of lacrosse, impact the growth of the world game and find a way to keep the sport going forward, you absolutely should do it.'"

"We were fortunate to have a tremendous pool of candidates, and Jenny really fit all of our needs," said Kevin Ankrom, director of high performance for US Lacrosse. "She's a proven winner, and she also has a passion for the development of the sport and helping to create the pathway from youth to world-class athletes."

Carolina players have been stalwarts for the national team over the years, representing the U.S. at the World Cup in 2009, 2013 and 2017.

"Over the past 10 years, we have had over 17 players participate in the US program," Levy explains. "We have always supported the U.S. National Team program and regularly encourage our players to try out to compete at the international level. We will continue to train our Carolina players at the highest level and encourage them to aspire to be U.S. Team players."

Levy, who currently volunteers as a member of the US Lacrosse Board of Directors, is the only coach in the history of UNC women's lacrosse. In her 22 seasons, she has compiled a record of 312-109. North Carolina has participated in the NCAA tournament 19 times, reached the semifinals nine times and won the national championship in 2013 and 2016.

As a player, Levy was a two-time first team All-America selection at the University of Virginia, and helped the Cavaliers to the 1991 NCAA championship when she earned Most Outstanding Attacker honors after scoring five goals in the semifinals and three in the championship game. She was named the NCAA Attacker of the Year in 1992 and went on to play on the U.S. national team for two years.

Levy takes over for Georgetown coach Ricky Fried, who led the U.S. to back-to-back Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championships, including a 10-5 victory over Canada in the gold medal game in Guildford, England last summer. The U.S. has been the dominant force in international women's lacrosse for decades, winning eight of the 10 FIL World Cups held since 1982.

"At Carolina, we always talk about leaving something better than you found it, leave a legacy, take risks and be bold," Levy says. "What a great opportunity for me to demonstrate these things to my own kids and our Carolina players."

The sport gained additional visibility this summer as lacrosse was included in The World Games for the first time ever. The World Games, conducted by the International World Games Association (IWGA), is a multi-sport competition for sports not contested in the Olympics. The U.S. defeated Canada, 11-8, to win the gold medal in Wroclaw, Poland.

The IWGA is formally recognized by the International Olympic Committee, and participation in the event was another step towards the aim of the FIL to have lacrosse included in the Olympic program.

Earlier this year, US Lacrosse announced the formation of the NTDP, which aims to increase and improve the pool of players feeding the national teams that represent the country in international competition, while providing regional opportunities for high school players to receive high performance training by US Lacrosse certified coaches and National Team coaches and players. Levy will play a major role in helping to shape that program.

"This is an opportunity for change, and to develop a high-performance system and structure that really prepares ourselves for the Olympic Games," said Ankrom, who has been involved in four Olympics through his previous roles in high performance with Hong Kong, Ireland and New Zealand.

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