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Anne Phillips
Anne Phillips, who led Franklin & Marshall to an NCAA Championship and was the IWLCA Division III National Coach of the Year in 2007, was named Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse on June 23, 2008. Phillips is the eighth head coach in the 32-year history of Yale women's lacrosse.
Phillips posted a 93-24 record (.795) in her six seasons at F&M, making her the school's all-time leader in both wins and winning percentage. That winning percentage put her third among active Division III head coaches at the end of her final season. Phillips also coached 18 individual IWLCA All-Americans and six of F&M's top 10 all-time leading scorers in her tenure.
A 1980 Franklin & Marshall graduate, Phillips revitalized the F&M program in her six seasons in Lancaster. She took over a team that had gone 8-7 in 2002 and led the Diplomats to a 14-5 record and ECAC Championship in 2003. The team won another ECAC Championship in 2005, then made the NCAA Division III Elite Eight in 2006.
The Diplomats were ranked in the top 10 nationally in each of Phillips' years, but in 2007 they reached new heights. The team achieved No. 1 in the rankings for the first time, winning its first Centennial Conference Championship in 14 years. The Diplomats finished off an undefeated season -- 21-0 -- with a win over Salisbury in the NCAA Division III Championship. They ranked second in the country in scoring defense (5.33 goals allowed per game) and seventh in the country in scoring offense (15.19 goals per game). The team also was an IWLCA National Academic Merit Squad selection.
F&M went 19-2 in 2008, winning another Centennial Conference Championship and reaching the NCAA Division III Championship game again before falling to Hamilton. The Diplomats were ranked fifth in the country in scoring defense (6.71 goals allowed per game).
A native of West Chester, Pa., Phillips helped found the Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse program. Then known as Anne Ricciuti, she played on the school's first team in 1977. She scored 99 goals and had 46 assists in two seasons as an attacker before her career was cut short by knee injuries. She was also on the field hockey team, which went 51-20-7 in her four years, and is seventh on the school's career goals list in that sport with 38.
After receiving her degree in economics from F&M, Phillips spent nine years with Deluxe Check Printers in St. Paul, Minn., rising to the level of Regional Computer Operations Manager. She began her coaching career with Owen J. Roberts High School in Pottstown, Pa., in 1998. She gradually turned that program around from a 1-17 record her first season to a 19-1-1 mark and a state championship in her final season, 2001. She was named the Philadelphia Inquirer Coach of the Year.
Phillips is chairman of the US Lacrosse National Team Selection Committee and was a US Lacrosse National Team selector in 2007. She has been a member of the National All-American Selection Committee since 2003 and has been a member of the United States Lacrosse Coaches Council since 2006. Phillips was also the director of Girls' Lacrosse for the Keystone State Games from 1998 to 2002.
Anne Phillips Head Coaching Record
2003 14-5 ECAC Champions
2004 10-9
2005 14-3 ECAC Champions
2006 15-5 NCAA Elite Eight Regional Finalist
2007 21-0 NCAA National Champions, Centennial Conference Champions
2008 19-2 NCAA National Finalists, Centennial Conference Champions
2009 5-11
Total 98-35 (.737)
Anne Phillips Head Coaching Highlights
Three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, one NCAA Championship (2007)
18 Individual IWLCA All-Americans in six seasons
2007 IWLCA Division III National Coach of the Year
Chairman of US Lacrosse National Team Selection Committee
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Jillian Byers, who was a finalist for the Honda Sports Award and the Tewaaraton Trophy as the top college women's lacrosse player in 2009, joined the Yale staff as an assistant coach in the summer of 2009. A four-time All-American, Byers graduated from Notre Dame in May of 2009 as the Fighting Irish's all-time leading scorer. An attacker, her 262 career goals place her fourth in NCAA history.
"I am really excited that Jill has accepted the position as assistant coach in our program," said Anne Phillips, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse. "Jill is one of the top attackers in the game and an extraordinary offensive mind. She will help to make our attackers the best offensive players they can be. We are fortunate to bring such an outstanding instructor, role model and mentor to the Yale women's lacrosse program."
Byers scored a team-record 83 goals in 2009, finishing second in the country in goals and third in points (111). She also set the Notre Dame single-season draw control record with 55. In addition to being the school's all-time leading scorer she also leads in points (336, 10th in NCAA history), draw controls (154) and games played (76).
"I am absolutely ecstatic about joining the Yale women's lacrosse program," said Byers. "Yale's reputation academically and athletically is exceptional and it is an incredible honor to be a part of such a well-respected institution. I look forward to working with Coach Phillips and Coach Strain as well as the Yale student-athletes to take this program to the highest level of college lacrosse."
Byers was Notre Dame's captain and MVP in 2009, leading the Fighting Irish to a 16-5 record, a Big East Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance, the third NCAA appearance in Byers' four years. The team advanced to the Final Four in 2006, the first round in 2008 and the second round in 2009. Overall Notre Dame was 54-22 during her tenure.
Byers, who earned three second-team All-America honors and one first team honor in her career, was a unanimous first team All-Big East selection four times. She was named Big East co-attack player of the year her senior year, when she led the conference in goals (a record 31 in conference play) and was second in points (42). She is the Big East's all-time leading scorer with 78 career goals. Her 12 points in an Apr. 18 win over UConn this past year (seven goals, five assists) are a Big East single-game record.
Byers was selected to the U.S. Lacrosse Developmental Team in 2009. It was the second straight year she made the roster for that team, which is designed as a feeder program for the U.S. National Team.
A native of Northport, N.Y., Byers attended Northport High, where she played basketball, lacrosse and soccer. She led all three teams to Suffolk County League titles all four years, captaining the lacrosse and soccer teams. She also played club lacrosse for the Long Island Elite Club Program the Yellow Jackets.
Byers was a film, television and theatre major at Notre Dame, minoring in theology. She was a three-time Academic All-Star Team selection and was a Rosenthal Leadership Academy Leader of Distinction Award winner in her senior year. She also took part in the Read to a Child program as a mentor.