Cindy Timchal?s biggest legacy on the field at Maryland may be the eight NCAA women?s lacrosse titles she won during her 16-year tenure.
But her overall legacy in the sport is far greater, something quite apparent during Maryland?s season opener Monday at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Both coaches in the game honed their craft under Timchal, the sport?s all-time winningest coach who left College Park for Navy in August.
Maryland?s current coach, Cathy Reese, and UMBC counterpart Courtney Connor were teammates together during the Terps? unprecedented run of seven straight national championships from 1995 to 2001. Reese graduated in 1998, and Connor did so in 2001.
“It was great to learn the game from the best coach in the game,” Connor said. “Now, myself and the other former Maryland players that are coaches can take that knowledge, put their own spin on it and help build programs of their own.”
Reese and Connor are not alone in the Timchal family tree of coaching. There are at least eight current Division I head coaches who played under Timchal. Among them is Northwestern coach Kelly Amonte-Hiller, who has led the Wildcats to back-to-back national titles. Coincidentally, Timchal helped start that program in 1982.
“All of us who played under Cindy or played at Maryland had a great overall college experience,” Reese said. “It part of the reason why it was so attractive for me to come back to Maryland. All of us who have had that experience have tried to take it a step further, which is why you see so many former Maryland players coaching.”
Stanford coach Michele Uhlfelder understands this all too well. The Pikesville native, a 1991 Maryland graduate, is in her seventh season with the Cardinal and helped the program last year become the first West Coast school to make the NCAA tournament.
“There is such a great tradition of lacrosse at Maryland, and a lot of the players who have gone through the program feel a sense of ownership to the game,” Uhlfelder said. “A lot of us had wanted to share what the game gave us at Maryland to other programs as the game continues to grow.”
TIMCHAL FAMILY TREE
Former Maryland players under coach Cindy Timchal include:
» Maryland: Cathy Reese (Class of 1998)
» UMBC: Courtney Connor (2001)
» Duke: Kerstin Kimel (1993)
» Stanford: Michele Uhlfelder (1991)
» UMass: Alexis Venechanos (2003)
» Stony Brook: Allison Comito (2002)
» Towson: Missy Doherty (1997)
» Northwestern: Kelly Amonte-Hiller (1996)
