Anne Harrington Named Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach

RICHMOND, Va. – University of Richmond Vice President and Director of Athletics John P. Hardt has removed the interim tag and named Anne Harrington the seventh coach in Spider women's lacrosse history Tuesday. Harrington has spent the past six years at Richmond, including the 2021 season serving as the interim head coach leading the Spiders to a 14-4 overall record.

"We are delighted to elevate Anne Harrington to head coach of the women's lacrosse program," Hardt said. "Anne has done a remarkable job as the interim head coach, providing the program with needed stability and continuity. Her work over the past six years with the program has helped Spider women's lacrosse become one of the top programs in the Atlantic 10. We look forward to Anne's leadership of our program and are excited about the future for our Spider student-athletes."

Harrington led the Spiders to 14 victories, the most for the Spiders since 2019. Richmond finished the regular season ranked No. 18 in the Inside Lacrosse/IWLCA Division I poll. She led the Spiders to the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament and guided the program to two major A-10 end-of-the-year awards.

Graduate Brittney Wright was named the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year while junior Sophia DiCenso was named the Midfield Player of the Year – the program's first midfield award since 2012. The Spiders placed four on the All-Atlantic 10 teams in Wright, DiCenso, Lindsey Frank and Arden Tierney. Richmond had three make the league's All-Rookie Team honors, the most all-time in program history.

"I am excited to continue my time at the University of Richmond," Harrington said "I want to thank John Hardt and LaRee Sugg for their support and giving me the opportunity to be the next head coach of this program. I am especially grateful for the young women who make up this team. They believe in what we are doing and have put their trust in me. I can't wait to see what we accomplish together."

Harrington's Spiders finished the year fourth in the country in assists per game at 8.11 and 13^th in the nation in scoring defense, limiting opponents to only 9.5 goals against per game. Richmond recorded 11 different top 25 marks in NCAA stat categories this season and took home 10 Atlantic 10 Conference weekly awards.

The Spiders put together a perfect season at Robins Stadium, posting a 9-0 mark at home this year. The nine wins at Robins Stadium are the most for the Spiders since 2018 (9-1) while the perfect home record is only the second one in over 20 years. The Spiders picked up a win at home against No. 16 Stanford and their four losses only came against nationally ranked opponents.

"Anne's integrity, work ethic, dedication to creating a positive team culture, commitment to academic excellence, and competitive spirit are qualities that made her the best choice to lead our Women's Lacrosse program," Deputy Director of Athletics for Policy and Sport Management LaRee Sugg said.

Prior to 2021, Harrington spent five years on the coaching staff for former head coach Allison Kwolek, including the final two years as Associate Head Coach. During her time on staff at Richmond, the Spiders recorded a 74-16 (.822 winning percent) mark that includes a 28-5 (.848) record in Atlantic 10 Conference play. She has been part of the program that has won two regular season A-10 titles and made two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2018 and 2019.

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Sophia DiCenso

Lindsey Frank

Arden Tierney

Brittney Wright

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