William & Mary Athletics

Having led the William and Mary lacrosse team to four consecutive 10-win seasons, Head Coach Christine Halfpenny enters her sixth year at the helm of the Tribe program.

In her five seasons directing the Tribe, Halfpenny has helped the program reestablish itself among the nation's upper echelon. Under her direction, the Tribe has consistently ranked among the country's top 20 and has posted a 20-8 record in conference play en route to securing four straight conference tournament bids. Additionally, she guided W&M to a pair of regular-season conference titles in 2008 and 2009, while she was honored as the Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 2008.

In addition to the squad's collective success, Halfpenny has helped a number of Tribe players earn individual accolades. During her tenure, W&M players have garnered 26 all-conference honors, 10 all-region selections and a pair of All-Americans in Sarah Jonson and Grace Golden. The 2011 season was especially rewarding, as W&M became the first team in league history to garner all three of the conference's top individual player honors (Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year) in the same season.

Additional evidence of Halfpenny's impact on the program can be found in the Tribe's record book, as the team has established single-season records for points (347), goals (244), draw controls (269), caused turnovers (227) and saves (218) during her tenure. Additionally, numerous individual career and single-season school records have been established under her watch, while nearly all of the program's top-10 lists are filled with players who have benefited from her coaching.

W&M student-athletes have also excelled in the classroom during Halfpenny's tenure, as 16 players earned the CAA Commissioner's Academic Award in 2010, bringing the College's total to 59 during the last four years.

The 2011 campaign proved to be yet another exciting season for the Tribe, as Halfpenny guided the team to its fourth consecutive 10-win season - a feat matched just one other time in the program's history. Additionally, the College was ranked among the nation's top 20 for much of the season and advanced to the CAA Tournament for the fourth straight year. Statistically, W&M was among the league's best and led the conference in goals per game, points per game, ground balls per game, draw controls per game, caused turnovers per game and shooting percentage.

To cap off the successful 2011 season, W&M made history at the CAA awards banquet when it became the first team to win all three of the conference's top individual player honors (Grace Golden/Player of the Year; Sarah Jonson/Defensive Player of the Year; Taelor Salmon/Rookie of the Year) in the same season. Jonson's recognition marked the second consecutive season she earned the league's top defensive honor, while Golden became just the third player in CAA history to garner first-team all-conference distinction four times. In all, six Tribe players combined to earn nine all-league honors at the season-ending banquet.

National and regional honors accumulated as well in 2011, with both Golden and Jonson earning multiple All-America selections. It marked the third straight year Jonson garnered All-America accolades, while it was the second consecutive year in which Golden was honored. Both players were also first-team all-region selections by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaching Association.

The 2010 season was also full of highlights, as the squad earned a double-digit win total, ranked among the nation's top 20 for nearly the entire season and advanced to the CAA Tournament for the third straight year. One of the top defensive teams in the nation, W&M set a single-season school record with 227 caused turnovers, while it ranked third in the country with 12.61 caused turnovers per game.

The individual highlights were also plentiful in '10, as Jonson and Golden earned All-America honors from WomensLacrosse.com while Jonson also garnered All-America distinction from the IWLCA. Jonson, Golden and Mary Zulty were all selected to the IWLCA All-South Region Team, while five Tribe players earned all-conference accolades. Jonson highlighted the list of all-league honorees, as she was chosen as the CAA Defensive Player of the Year.

Building upon the success of her first two campaigns, Halfpenny led the Tribe to its second consecutive regular-season CAA title in '09 after equaling a school record with six conference victories. En route to securing the league's No. 1 seed for the second straight year, W&M rattled off five consecutive conference wins - three of which came versus ranked teams - to close out the regular season. Along the way, the College established a program record with 244 goals and was just two assists shy of equaling the school record of 105 established in 1980.

The individual accolades poured in as well following the '09 season, as five players were chosen to all-conference teams - including first-team honorees Grace Golden and Ashley Holofcener. The duo also earned second-team all-region honors, while Sarah Jonson was a first-team all-region selection and was chosen as a third-team All-American by WomensLacrosse.com.

Honored as the 2008 CAA Coach of the Year, Halfpenny guided the College to a No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and a final national ranking of 20th during her second season at the helm of the Tribe. Also chosen as the 2008 Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) University Division Coach of the Year, Halfpenny led W&M to victories in eight of its final 11 games and an appearance in the CAA championship game. Along the way, the Tribe registered four triumphs against ranked teams, including wins versus top-10 opponents Stanford and George Mason.

Although much of the 2008 lineup was comprised of freshmen, Halfpenny helped a number of Tribe players earn individual accolades. Among the five all-conference selections were first-team honorees Grace Golden and Jaime Sellers. Golden was also chosen as the CAA Rookie of the Year and the VaSID Rookie of the Year, while Sellers was named to the IWLCA All-South Region Second Team.

Halfpenny took over the Tribe program during the summer of 2006 after a successful three-year stint as the top assistant at Duke University. During her first season in Williamsburg, Halfpenny began building the foundation for the success that would ensue in '08. In addition to the memorable upset victory against ninth-ranked James Madison at Albert-Daly Field, Kristen Wong and Sellers earned all-conference honors. Wong was also selected to the IWLCA All-South Region Second Team and later earned a spot on the U.S. National Elite Team during the summer of 2007.

Prior to coming to W&M, Halfpenny was part of a Duke staff that guided the Blue Devils to the 2005 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including national semifinal appearances in 2005 and 2006. While in Durham, Halfpenny's duties included serving as the head recruiting coordinator, team academic coordinator, strength and conditioning liaison, travel coordinator and compliance coordinator. Halfpenny also served as the goalkeeper coach, mentoring current Tribe volunteer assistant Megan Huether to First Team All-America honors in 2005, the same year the standout netminder was named the IWLCA/US Lacrosse Goalie of the Year.

In each of her three seasons at Duke, Halfpenny's recruiting classes were ranked among the nation's top four, according to Inside Lacrosse, and included the nation's top class in 2005. She showed an equal commitment to work in the classroom, as the Blue Devils posted the nation's top team GPA (3.46) in 2004 and the nation's second-best team GPA (3.42) in 2005. Additionally, Halfpenny saw more than 50 Blue Devils named to the ACC Honor Roll between 2004 and 2005.

Prior to her stint at Duke, Halfpenny was an assistant coach at her alma mater, Virginia Tech, during the 2002-03 academic year. In Blacksburg, Halfpenny served as the Hokies' head recruiting coordinator, travel coordinator and offensive coordinator. Halfpenny began her collegiate coaching career at Brown University as an assistant during the 2001 and 2002 seasons.

An active camp coach and counselor since 2000, Halfpenny directed the Duke Winter Lacrosse Camp in 2004-05 and has served as an assistant director at a variety of camps across the country. She is also an active member of both US Lacrosse and the IWLCA, serving on the coaches association growth committee in 2002-03.

Under Halfpenny's guidance, the College has hosted a number of clinics as well as a junior day each spring.

A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, Halfpenny was a four-year letterwinner in lacrosse and a starter on the 1999 Hokies team that captured the Atlantic 10 Championship. She received the team's Coaches Award that year and was a member of the Athletic Directors Honor Roll in 1998 and 1999.

After graduating from Virginia Tech, Halfpenny worked at Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, where she was the head coach of the boys and girls varsity swimming team and assistant varsity tennis coach. She guided the boys swim team to Valley District, Northwest Region and AAA State titles in 2000.

A native of Latham, N.Y., Halfpenny and her husband, Matt, have two sons: Jackson and Cole. Matt Halfpenny is the head men's and women's tennis coach at Norfolk State University.