UMBC Retrievers Women's Lacrosse

Bio

Courtney Connor

	Position: Head Coach		Alma Mater: Maryland, '01
	Position: Head Coach		Alma Mater: Maryland, '01

Courtney Connor became the third head coach in the UMBC women’s lacrosse program’s 34-year history in July 2005. Connor brings an impressive résumé to UMBC with back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in her last two years as head coach at Mount St. Mary’s and five national championships as a player at Maryland.

Connor joined the coaching ranks right of out college, taking over the Mount St. Mary’s program in the fall of 2001. During her inaugural season she graced the cover of the national monthly Lacrosse Magazine featuring young up-and-coming head coaches.

After finishing three games under .500 her first season, Connor held true to notion of being one of the nation’s top young coaches, skyrocketing the Mountaineers to the top of the Northeast Conference. Connor led Mount St. Mary’s to the NEC Tournament title game the next three years (2003-05) and won back-to-back conference championships the last two seasons to earn spots in the 16-team NCAA Tournament.

Over her final two years at Mount St. Mary’s, Connor produced an impressive 29-11 mark. She was named NEC Coach of the Year in 2004 and was selected to coach for the South squad in the Division-I Senior All-Star North-South game in 2005.

During her four-year tenure, Connor became the all-time winningest coach in Mountaineer women’s lacrosse history with a 43-31 mark. She produced nine athletes recognized by InsideLacrosse.com and WomensLacrosse.com, 22 NEC All-Conference players, nine NEC Players of the Week, five NEC Rookies of the Week, one NEC Player of the Year, one NEC Rookie of the Year and two Division-I Senior All-Stars.

Connor’s success at the Mount translated well at UMBC, as she led the Retrievers to their first-ever America East regular-season title with a 10-8 overall record and 5-1 league mark in 2006, as well as their first-ever victory over defending conference champion Boston University, which was ranked 11th in the country. The Terriers represented the highest-ranked team UMBC has ever defeated.

Connor was named America East Coach of the Year and was again selected to coach the South squad in the senior all-star game, with two Retrievers playing for her team. Connor also added to her impressive total of all-conference players, with seven earning America East honors in 2006, and senior Kelly Fiorani became her first IWLCA all-region honoree with a second team selection.

Despite a disappointing follow-up season in 2007 in which UMBC missed the America East Tournament, Connor still produced five more all-conference honorees.

In addition to her success on the field, her teams have become highly decorated in the classroom as well. She has coached three Academic All-America District-II honorees, two Academic All-America at-large first team members, six IWLCA Division-I Academic Honor Roll students, five America East all-academic team selections, the NEC Student-Athlete of the Year and the NEC Women’s Lacrosse Scholar Athlete of the Year.

A 2001 graduate of the University of Maryland, Connor produced an honor-laden career. The anchor of the Maryland defense, Connor was named National Defender of the Year by 360.Lacrosse and the MVP of the NCAA Tournament her senior year. During her five years with the Terps, she was a member of four ACC Championship teams and five NCAA Championship teams.

In addition to coaching, Connor continues to showcase her playing ability, competing for the U.S. Team and making the final round of tryouts (34 players) for the World Cup team in 2005. Connor also plays on the Mid-Atlantic women's lacrosse team that went undefeated at the U.S. Lacrosse Women's Division National Tournament in 2005, winning the Division-I President's Cup.

Connor, who is the daughter of former Baltimore Orioles’ pitcher Tippy Martinez, is married to former Maryland men’s lacrosse player Casey Connor. Casey is a three-time All-American and currently plays professionally for the Washington Bayhawks while holding a job with Under Armour. They are proud parents of daughters Acacia (4) and Jacinda (20 months) and reside in Baltimore, Md.