Lacrosse Coach

Colleges LaMonica hired as Towson women's lacrosse coach Former Maryland All-American and Mount St. Mary's coach Sonia LaMonica was named Towson University's women's lacrosse coach Friday, taking over a program that has made huge strides in recent years. LaMonica spent two years as a Tigers assistant before taking her first head-coaching job last season at the Mount, which she guided to an 8-9 season and the Northeast Conference tournament semifinals. "I am charged with excitement and energy for this next chapter in my coaching career and look so very forward to reuniting with the student-athletes and staff at this outstanding institution and continuing the growth this program has experienced over the last few years," she said in a news release.

Turning programs around has become a career pattern for Rick Sowell. In five seasons as the coach at Dartmouth, Sowell guided that program to its first and only Ivy League championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament in 2003. He restarted lacrosse at St. John's after a 10-year hiatus, going 6-20 in two seasons. But Sowell's greatest accomplishment to date was his work at Stony Brook, where he compiled a 47-26 record in five years, back-to-back America East regular-season crowns, and a spot in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals in 2010.

Et cetera UVa. men's lax coach Starsia gets 5-year deal Virginia men's lacrosse coach Dom Starsia agreed in January to a five-year contract through the 2016 season. Starsia will make $250,000 in annual compensation for the duration of the new deal, which marks a 64.8 percent raise from the guaranteed pay he received from his previous contract. Entering his 20th season as Virginia's coach, Starsia has led the Cavaliers to four national championships and six Atlantic Coast Conference titles.

Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala agreed to a contract extension Thursday that will run through the 2016 season. Pietramala, who will enter his 11th season at Hopkins and 14th overall as a college head coach this school year, was previously under contract on a deal that ran through the 2015 season. "Dave Pietramala and his staff and players continue to represent Johns Hopkins University at the highest level on the field and in the classroom and community," athletic director Tom Calder said.

Navy continues to be interested in Maryland men's lacrosse coach John Tillman — a flirtation confirmed when the academy asked permission over the weekend to speak to Tillman about its coaching vacancy, sources close to Maryland athletics said Monday. Maryland did not decline the request, which came Saturday and was considered more of a "heads up" — a courtesy call between athletic directors — than an actual inquiry. But Maryland has indicated that it will seek to retain Tillman, a longtime former Navy assistant who led the Terps to the NCAA title game in his first season.

Varsity Sullivan heading back to Mount Hebron as girls lacrosse coach Trish (Dewart) Sullivan will return to her alma mater as the Mount Hebron girls lacrosse coach this spring, athletic director Jeannie Prevosto announced Tuesday. Sullivan, a two-time All-Howard County defender who played on three state champion Vikings teams in the late 1990s, has coached Reservoir's girls lacrosse team for the past four years, but she couldn't resist the draw of her old school.

Rutgers reinstated men's lacrosse coach   Brian Brecht on Tuesday, almost a month after having suspended him with pay over allegations of verbal abuse. While the university investigation found that the former Loyola University assistant did use inappropriate language and exhibited unprofessional behavior on occasion, the instances were infrequent and not directed at individual players. Accordingly the university found no criminal or university policy violations. “I regret my behavior and am determined to set a better example in the future,” said Brecht, who missed the last two games of the season.

After meeting with Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk and other school officials, visiting the campus in Annapolis and touring the lacrosse facilities on Wednesday, Rick Sowell needed less than 24 hours to agree to vacate his head coaching position at Stony Brook for the same post at Navy. Sowell said Navy contacted him about the vacancy "about four or five days ago. " Sowell, who became the eighth coach in the program's 104-year history, said Thursday afternoon that he wasn't too surprised at the pace of his decision.