July 1, 2005
Penrose announces resignation as Methodist head lacrosse coach

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Following a successful two-year stint, Jill Penrose submitted her resignation as head lacrosse coach at Methodist on Tuesday, Methodist athletic director Bob McEvoy announced. A nationwide search for Penrose’s successor will begin immediately.

“Coach Penrose brought a great enthusiasm and work ethic to our women’s lacrosse program,” said McEvoy. “She also provided great leadership as advisor to our Student Athlete Advisory Committee. We will miss her and wish her well in her future endeavors.”

Taking over a budding Monarch program in the 2004 season, Penrose did the impossible, leading Methodist to a 7-6 record, including 4-1 in the USA South Athletic Conference for the first USA South regular season championship in the three-year history of women’s lacrosse at Methodist. In addition, the Monarchs also set a school record for victories in a season and recorded the first winning season in program history.

For those tremendous accomplishments, Penrose, a native of Mt. Laurel, N.J., earned USA South Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors.

The Monarchs picked up where they left off in Penrose’s second season in 2005, finishing 8-9 overall for a new single-season school record for victories. Methodist advanced to the championship game of the USA South Tournament. Overall, Penrose sported a 15-15 mark in her two seasons at the helm of the Monarchs.

Penrose came to Methodist after serving as an assistant coach at NCAA Division III Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in California. As an assistant at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Penrose helped lead the Stags to a 10-3 mark in the 2003 season. She also served as Sports Information Director at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

This was the first head coaching position for Penrose at the collegiate level. In addition to her stint at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, she has also coached at the high school and club levels. Penrose was head junior varsity coach at Lenape (N.J.) High School in 2002, leading her team to a 14-3 mark.

Penrose attended Rutgers, where she lettered four seasons for the Scarlet Knights from 1998-2001 under head coach Anna Marie Vesco. She helped lead Rutgers to its first-ever national ranking and NCAA Division I National Tournament appearance in 1999. Penrose was voted the team’s “Most Improved Player” in 2000 and served as team captain in her senior season of 2001.