BRIDGEWATER, Va. --- Colleen Shearer, a former Division I National Assistant Coach of the Year and national champion with the University of Virginia, has accepted the head women's lacrosse coach position at Bridgewater College.
Shearer was previously the Associate Head Coach at the University of Virginia, and spent the past 19 seasons with the Cavaliers. UVA won the 2004 NCAA Division I national championship and also reached the title game in 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007.
She was with the Cavaliers for ACC championships in 1998, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Shearer was named the IWLCA National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2010, which was the second year the award was presented. She worked primarily with the attack during her time at Virginia, but was involved with all aspects of the program as Associate Head Coach.
Virginia was nationally ranked in the top-20 of the IWLCA Division I poll every week during Shearer's 19 seasons with the program. Over that time, she coached 63 All-Americans, four Academic All-Americans, six Tewaartaton Trophy finalists, one Tewaaraton winner, and five National Player of the Year selections from IWLCA or Inside Lacrosse.
"We are very pleased to have hired Colleen Shearer as our next head women's lacrosse coach," said director of athletics Curt Kendall. "The wealth of knowledge, experience and passion she brings to this position will be an extremely valuable benefit to our lacrosse student-athletes. Her connections within the women's lacrosse club world will help with recruiting talented lacrosse athletes and allow our program to continue to advance within the ODAC and region."
"I am excited for the opportunity to be the next head women's lacrosse coach at Bridgewater College," said Shearer. "Our goals will be simple - have passion for what we do, get better every day, and achieve in the classroom. I look forward to meeting the team and being part of the Bridgewater family."
Shearer was the first-ever head coach at Wagner College in 1996, leading the second-year program to an 8-8 record in 1997 before joining the staff at UVA.
She is also the General Manager of the Baltimore Ride, a founding member of the United Women's Lacrosse League (UMLX)- the world's first professional women's lacrosse league. The Ride played their first-ever game on May 28.
Shearer has served on the IWLCA Recruiting Committee and All-American Committee, is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and holds a certification in AFFA Group Exercise.
A former member of the U.S. National Developmental Team, Shearer was a three-time All-American at Rowan and was named captain her senior year. She led the Profs to the 1995 NCAA Championships, their first appearance in the tournament. Shearer led the nation in assists in both 1994 and 1995 and finished her collegiate career ranked fourth all-time in that category.
Shearer replaces Danielle Hawkins, who left Bridgewater for a job in the private sector after three seasons with the Eagles. Bridgewater reached the ODAC playoffs in 2016 for the first time in 12 seasons, finishing with a 9-9 mark while earning five All-ODAC and two All-State selections.
Shearer lives in Crozet with her husband Matt and daughter Mattison Elizabeth.
--- This release is courtesy of the Bridgewater College department of athletic communications. ---
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