Director of Athletics Nick Davidson announced the hiring of Lauren Bennett as the head coach of Keiser University’s new women’s lacrosse program. “I am extremely honored to become part of the Keiser family and I want to thank the administration for giving me the opportunity to start the women’s lacrosse program from the ground up,” said Bennett. Bennett comes to Keiser University after spending three seasons as the assistant coach at Florida Southern College, in Lakeland, FL.  This past season, she helped lead the team to their first NCAA Division II National Championship with an 8-7 win over the #1 team in the country. While at FSC, Bennett helped guide the team to a 53-9 overall record while serving as the team’s offensive/draw coordinator. “We are very excited to add Lauren Bennett as the Seahawks Head Coach for Women’s Lacrosse,” said Director of Athletics Nick Davidson. “She brings a great deal of playing experience and has coached under a very good coach in NCAA DII at Florida Southern.  She has a unique opportunity to develop a program and take it to a high level and Coach Bennett is the right person to do this!” Lauren guided the Mocs to a 2015/2016 Sunshine State Conference Regular Season and Conference Championship titles and a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2015. Over her three years at Florida Southern, Bennett helped produce a number of All-Conference, All-Region and All-Americans, including the DII Goalie of the Year in 2014. “After spending the past three years at Florida Southern College and coming off an NCAA DII National Championship, I know how to lay the foundation needed in order to yield positive results on the field, in the classroom and in the community,” said Bennett. Prior to Florida Southern, Lauren spent a year as the director of lacrosse at the Casterton School, an all-girls independent boarding school in Kirkby Lonsdale, England. Along with serving as the director of lacrosse, she was a physical education teacher, teaching various sports. She also was the head women’s lacrosse coach at Lancaster University and the co-head coach of both the U-19 and U-15 Yorkshire County Club teams. Bennett continued, “Starting a new program is something I have always wanted to do. I am so excited that Keiser University has given me this opportunity to bring together young women from across the country to play the sport they love, all while getting an excellent education.” In the summer of 2011, Bennett traveled to Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic while participating in the International Coaching Program with Global Players. In addition to earning a certificate in coaching, she also participated in multiple European lacrosse tournaments and was a member of the 2011 Berlin Open Championship team. The Frederick, Md., native, played one season at Lock Haven University and was a member of the school’s 2009 NCAA Division II finalist women’s lacrosse team. After playing one year at Lock Haven, Bennett transferred to St. Mary’s College of Maryland, where she was a three-year member of the women’s lacrosse team and a two-year member of the field hockey program. During her three seasons at St. Mary’s, Bennett amassed 55 goals and 15 assists for a total of 70 points and netted multiple game-winning goals, all while taking the majority of the draws as the squad’s draw specialist. In field hockey, she was a defender and earned the Seahawk Spirit Award in both 2010 and 2011. Bennett, earned her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 2012 and also earned a minor in Religion while at St. Mary’s College. She received her master’s degree cum laude in College Athletic Administration from Coker College in Hartsville, S.C., in December of 2014.   Good luck to Lauren!