Amonte Hiller Welcomes Venechanos Back to Lacrosse Coaching Staff
8/23/2022 3:01:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern University Combe Family Head Lacrosse Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller announced the return of Alexis Venechanos as an assistant coach on Tuesday. Venechanos, who was part of Amonte Hiller's coaching staff as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator from 2004-06, helped the Wildcats to a pair of national titles (2005, 2006) and a 56-4 record over three seasons in Evanston. As a player and coach, she has been a part of four national title teams.
"We could not be more excited to welcome Alexis back to Evanston, said Amonte Hiller. "Lex comes to us with an incredible amount of experience and knowledge as a coach. Alexis is a strong recruiter, an innovator tactically and an excellent mentor. Having already worked with Alexis, the transition will be seamless."
During the last two seasons of Venechanos' first stint at NU, the 'Cats compiled an impressive 41-1 record and won back-to-back national championships. Under Venechanos' tutelage, Morgan Lathrop and Ashley Gersuk flourished as goalkeepers and NU's defense posted top five national marks in scoring defense and scoring margin.
Since departing NU after the 2006 season, Venechanos enjoyed a 15-year run as a collegiate head coach at UMass, Ohio State and Otterbein. Since 2021, the Yorktown, N.Y. native served as the associate athletic director and head girls lacrosse coach at Lake Forest Academy.
Venechanos is no stranger to the Big Ten Conference and as head coach, guided Ohio State to an 86-73 record (.550) from 2011-19. The Buckeyes appeared in two NCAA Tournaments (2014, 2015) during her leadership and finished as the league's runner-up in 2015. In 2014, OSU tallied its second-most single-season wins in program history (13) and qualified for its first NCAA postseason in 11 years.
Prior to her arrival in Columbus, Venechanos spent four seasons as head coach at UMass where she inherited a program in 2006 that had not been to the NCAA tournament in over 20 years. Within three seasons, she took the Minutewomen back to the postseason for the first time in a quarter century. They went on to make a second consecutive NCAA trip in 2010, punctuating a career already marked by a pair of Atlantic 10 championship tournament titles (2009, 2010), an Atlantic 10 regular-season title (2009) and three appearances in the A-10 Tournament championship game. Venechanos registered a record of 36-38 in Amherst, including double-digit win totals in her last two seasons.
Her most recent stint as a collegiate head coach was at Otterbein, a Division III institution located in Westerville, Ohio, where Venechanos led the Cardinals to a 13-8 record over two Covid-19 altered seasons (2020, 2021). In 2021, the Cardinals finished fourth in the Ohio Athletic Conference standings and hosted an OAC Tournament game for the first time in program history.
Venechanos was a decorated three-year starting goalie for Maryland, which claimed consecutive NCAA titles in 2000 and 2001 to begin her career. The Terrapins were a perfect 22-0 during her first year as a starter, won three ACC trophies and then made the NCAA Semifinals in 2003 when Venechanos was named a first team All-American and National Goalkeeper of the Year. She played the second half of that senior season with a torn ACL.
Venechanos holds a bachelor's degree in communication studies from Maryland. She and her wife, Dr. Sarah Taylor, have three daughters; Olympia, and twins Theodora and Cecilia.
"We could not be more excited to welcome Alexis back to Evanston, said Amonte Hiller. "Lex comes to us with an incredible amount of experience and knowledge as a coach. Alexis is a strong recruiter, an innovator tactically and an excellent mentor. Having already worked with Alexis, the transition will be seamless."
During the last two seasons of Venechanos' first stint at NU, the 'Cats compiled an impressive 41-1 record and won back-to-back national championships. Under Venechanos' tutelage, Morgan Lathrop and Ashley Gersuk flourished as goalkeepers and NU's defense posted top five national marks in scoring defense and scoring margin.
Since departing NU after the 2006 season, Venechanos enjoyed a 15-year run as a collegiate head coach at UMass, Ohio State and Otterbein. Since 2021, the Yorktown, N.Y. native served as the associate athletic director and head girls lacrosse coach at Lake Forest Academy.
Venechanos is no stranger to the Big Ten Conference and as head coach, guided Ohio State to an 86-73 record (.550) from 2011-19. The Buckeyes appeared in two NCAA Tournaments (2014, 2015) during her leadership and finished as the league's runner-up in 2015. In 2014, OSU tallied its second-most single-season wins in program history (13) and qualified for its first NCAA postseason in 11 years.
Prior to her arrival in Columbus, Venechanos spent four seasons as head coach at UMass where she inherited a program in 2006 that had not been to the NCAA tournament in over 20 years. Within three seasons, she took the Minutewomen back to the postseason for the first time in a quarter century. They went on to make a second consecutive NCAA trip in 2010, punctuating a career already marked by a pair of Atlantic 10 championship tournament titles (2009, 2010), an Atlantic 10 regular-season title (2009) and three appearances in the A-10 Tournament championship game. Venechanos registered a record of 36-38 in Amherst, including double-digit win totals in her last two seasons.
Her most recent stint as a collegiate head coach was at Otterbein, a Division III institution located in Westerville, Ohio, where Venechanos led the Cardinals to a 13-8 record over two Covid-19 altered seasons (2020, 2021). In 2021, the Cardinals finished fourth in the Ohio Athletic Conference standings and hosted an OAC Tournament game for the first time in program history.
Venechanos was a decorated three-year starting goalie for Maryland, which claimed consecutive NCAA titles in 2000 and 2001 to begin her career. The Terrapins were a perfect 22-0 during her first year as a starter, won three ACC trophies and then made the NCAA Semifinals in 2003 when Venechanos was named a first team All-American and National Goalkeeper of the Year. She played the second half of that senior season with a torn ACL.
Venechanos holds a bachelor's degree in communication studies from Maryland. She and her wife, Dr. Sarah Taylor, have three daughters; Olympia, and twins Theodora and Cecilia.
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