Kateri Linville Staff

Kateri Linville begins her fifth season as an assistant coach with the Notre Dame women[apos]s lacrosse team during the 2010 campaign.

In four seasons as a member of head coach Tracy Coyne[apos]s coaching staff, Linville has played a key role in the team[apos]s success as the Irish have advanced to three NCAA Tournaments (2006, 2008, 2009), one NCAA Final Four (2006) and the school[apos]s first-ever BIG EAST Championship (2009).

In her first four seasons at Notre Dame, Linville has guided the Irish defense and has seen seven of her players receive postseason honors, including the program[apos]s first, first team IWLCA All-American defender, Shannon Burke, in 2009.

Besides working with the defense, Linville[apos]s efforts in team and player development extend to the Irish recruiting efforts.

Since becoming the team[apos]s recruiting coordinator, the Irish have signed some of the top talent in the nation in the 2009 and 2010 classes. The 2009 class had a pair named to Inside Lacrosse Top 25 Rising Freshmen in Jenny Granger and Betsy Mastropieri while the 2010 Top 10 Young Guns Rising Seniors included incoming recruit Margaret Smith who signed a national letter of intent last fall.

The 2009 season saw the Irish go 16-5 overall, setting a school record for wins on the way to a first-ever BIG EAST title. Notre Dame defeated both Syracuse and Georgetown to win the championship while playing some of its best defense of the season.

As a team during 2009, the Irish defense set a school record, averaging 14.62 draw controls per game while grabbing 21.0 ground balls and 10.52 caused turnovers per contest.

Leading the Notre Dame defense were two players who received national recognition – senior Shannon Burke and junior Rachel Guerrera.

Burke became the first Irish defensive player to be named a first team IWLCA All-American and also was a first team all-BIG EAST choice. Guerrera was also recognized by the IWLCA as she was a second team all-West/Midwest regional selection.

Meaghan Fitzpatrick was a first team all-BIG EAST selection in 2007, following a second team honor along with teammate Mary Carpenter in 2006.

The 2008 season saw defender Becky Ranck and Burke named second team all-BIG EAST. Carpenter, Fitzpatrick and goalkeeper Carol Dixon were second team IWLCA all-Region choices in `06 with Fitzpatrick repeating in `07. Ranck and Burke were second team IWLCA all-region choices following the 2008 season.

In January of 2010, Linville received recognition of her own as she was selected to serve as an assistant coach on Canada[apos]s Under-19 team that will compete in the 2011 World Cup that will be played in Hannover, Germany in August of 2011.

A native of Moorestown, N.J., Linville joined the Notre Dame staff in 2006 after serving two seasons as a volunteer assistant at the University of Virginia. During her two years on the staff at Virginia, the Cavaliers claimed an ACC and NCAA Championship in 2004 and returned to the national title game in 2005.

Linville got her start in coaching in the spring of 2003 as an assistant at Moorestown High School where she helped her alma mater to its fourth straight New Jersey state title and a No. 2 ranking by Lacrosse Magazine.

A 2003 graduate of the University of Delaware, Linville was a four-time scholar-athlete and captain of the 2002-03 women[apos]s lacrosse team. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree with distinction in health and exercise science and received her Masters of Education with a concentration in sport & exercise psychology from Virginia in 2007.

As a two-year member of US Lacrosse Coaches Education Program, Linville helped develop and edit the coaches education curriculum as well as co-author [quote]Go to Drills: Developing the Complete Lacrosse Player and Building a Winning Lacrosse Program.[quote] She continues to serve the lacrosse community as a clinician of camps and clinics in the United States and around the world.