Head coach Kate Robinson was hired in the summer of 2014 to lead Whitman College into its first varsity women’s lacrosse season.
That genesis brought along a successful club program into NCAA Division III competition as the fifth team to compete in the sport within the Northwest Conference.
Robinson has made short work of improving the program, doubling the team's win total from year one (2) to four victories in year two. Under her guidance four players earned 2016 All-Northwest Conference honors and Robinson was voted coach of the year in the league by her peers.
First-year midfielder Lindsay Schwartz and junior defender earned first-team all-league honors in 2016, while teammates Sam Sheffer (Sr.) and Sarah Myers (Fy.) were second-team selections.
Schwartz finished the 2016 schedule as the conference leader in goals (55) and draw controls (67). Her scoring total ranked 32nd in the country and her goals per game average (3.93) was 27th. Schwartz's draw controls per game mark of 4.79 was 51st.
Successes within that program’s first year extended deeper than just the win Whitman registered in its first outing, an historical 15-6 defeat of visiting Linfield College on March 15, 2015.
Robinson held together a large first-season roster of 25 players, mentoring three of them to all-conference honors and another to the conference’s student-athlete of the week award.
Sheffer (midfield) and Nora Leitch (defense) were voted first-team all-NWC while Lucy Skugstad (attack) garnered second-team recognition. And just prior to the all-conference announcement midfielder Anna Melville had been voted the league’s defensive player of the week honoree.
Such achievements in the program’s inaugural season were not a surprise given Robinson’s background.
Robinson came to Whitman in 2014 after spending the previous two years as an assistant coach at the Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.). Prior to her stint at Stevens she served one year as a graduate assistant coach for her alma mater, The Catholic University of America, where as an undergraduate the three-time All-America lacrosse honoree also excelled on the basketball court.
"It was an honor to have been chosen to lead the college's first varsity women's lacrosse team,” said Robinson. “I am confident that our program will be a great addition to the already-successful athletics department at Whitman."
Working as the top assistant for head women's lacrosse coach Celine Cunningham at Stevens, Robinson was involved in all aspects of the program including evaluating and recruiting prospective student-athletes, planning and executing team practices and individual skill sessions, video breakdown and coaching sessions as well as trip planning and oversight of team travel.
Stevens' 2014 squad placed four players on the All-Empire 8 team including the league's rookie of the year. Two of the all-conference performers were later voted onto the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association all-region team.
"Kate made a tremendous impact on our program and student-athletes," said Cunningham. "She is a tireless worker and very passionate about lacrosse. Whitman College and the student-athletes she will work with are very fortunate to have her join the Whitman family."
Robinson stepped across the sideline from the playing field at Catholic to begin her coaching career immediately after a stellar career with the Cardinals.
A program-best 121 points from 77 goals and 44 assists in an all-American junior season in 2009 was followed by a premature end to her senior campaign when she suffered a season-ending injury during the second game on the schedule. Robinson, awarded a red-shirt year following her ACL injury, bounced back in 2011 with an 81-point effort that earned first-team All-Landmark Conference and first-team all-region honors for the fourth time.
Catholic's career leader in goals (268) and points (383), Robinson also remains the single-season pace-setter in goals (91, in 2008), assists (44, in 2009), points (121, in 2009) and caused turnovers (45, in 2009). Beyond her three all-American selections (2008, 2009, 2011), other honors earned while representing the Cardinals include the Landmark player of the year (2008, 2009), the Womenslacrosse.com midfielder of the year (2009), the D-III preseason player of the year as announced by Lacrosse Magazine (2010), and being named to the watch list for the 2010 Tewaaraton Trophy which is the annual award presented to the women's lacrosse player of the year from all divisions (I, II and III).
Robinson supplemented her lacrosse endeavors with more than just participation on the basketball court as she was voted that team's captain in her junior and senior years.
A career on the sidelines may have been pre-destined for Robinson who had to look no farther than the family dinner table for inspiration and coaching models.
Grandfather Jim Phelan was the head coach of Mount Saint Mary's (Md.) University for 49 years and amassed an incredible 830 wins which is seventh-most among D-I coaches and 14th all-time. His 1,354 games coached ranks fourth-most among basketball's coaching legends and the Jim Phelan Award is presented annually to the nation's top D-I men's coach.
Next in line at the Mount was Kate's mother Lynne Robinson who, since 2007, is the school's Director of Athletics. In her 36th year at Mount Saint Mary's, Lynne made the transition from player to coach and eventually administrator while, with Kate at her knee, watching Phelan make history.
The challenges for the third and youngest of the Phelan-Robinson coaching tree exist not only within the Northwest Conference in facing already established teams but also in growing the Eastern-dominated sport in the Northwest.
"I find it thrilling to have the chance to help develop and establish our club program into a varsity squad," said the first-time head coach when she was hired. "Women's lacrosse is a sport exploding at the high school and collegiate levels, with the West Coast its newest proving grounds.”
Robinson and Whitman were certainly on the national radar in the program’s first year with national publication LacrosseMagazine making note of the Missionaries with an
online editorial article written by well-known contributor Bill Tanton.
Robinson at Whitman
| Season |
Record |
| 2016 |
4-10 |
| 2015 |
2-6 |
|
|
| Overall |
6-16 |
