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Matt Kerwick resigns as head men’s lacrosse coach

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in .
Kerwick was the first head coach in program history; takes over as top assistant at Georgetown  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Matt Kerwick has resigned his position as head coach of the Jacksonville University men’s lacrosse team, JU Athletic Director Alan Verlander announced on Friday.  Kerwick will take over as the associate head coach at Georgetown University under head coach Dave Urick. JU promoted assistant Brian Duncan to interim head coach pending a national search.  “We hate to see Matt leave, but we wish him nothing but the best at Georgetown,” Verlander said.  “Matt did a tremendous job of starting our program and building the foundation for future success. The interest in this position and our University is already overwhelming in a positive way.  Our expectation for the program is to be a perennial NCAA Tournament participant and our search is going to focus on bringing in a coach with those credentials.” Named the first head coach in JU history on Aug. 27, 2008, Kerwick guided the Dolphins to an 11-17 record in the program’s first two seasons. Under his tutelage, the Dolphins qualified for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament in its first year of league play in 2011. “I would like to thank President Romesburg and Alan Verlander for their vision and support of the JU men’s lacrosse program,” Kerwick said. “This is a very difficult decision for a number of reasons, but without question the hardest part is leaving a tremendous group of young men who have accomplished a great deal in two short years. Building a program from the ground up is a difficult task and this group of student-athletes has done a remarkable job. I know they will continue to represent JU athletics in a positive way and achieve great success in the future.” Jake Ziegler and Cameron Mann earned sports on the MAAC’s all-conference first team and Bobby Stockton was named to the second-team. Under Kerwick, the Dolphins also sent two players to the USILA North-South All-Star Game with Brad Hester (2010) and Stockton (2011) qualifying. Kerwick led a first-year program to within one game of .500 in 2010, guiding the Dolphins to a 6-7 finish that included a thrilling triple-overtime victory over No. 18 Denver for the first win in school history. Among the other highlights of Kerwick’s tenure were victories over established programs like Rutgers, Providence and Sacred Heart.  Kerwick also helped to grow the sport in a new market, culminating with a season-opening contest against No. 15 Georgetown that drew 8,152 fans for the Moe’s Sunshine Classic at EverBank Field in February. JU also saw 2,043 people come out to D.B. Mile Field when the Dolphins hosted the defending national-champion Duke Blue Devils on April 30. Kerwick has 15 years experience as a head coach at JU, Randolph- Macon, Alfred and his alma mater, Hobart College, where he spent the previous seven years before leading the Dolphins. During his time at Hobart, Kerwick led the Statesmen to the Patriot League championship in 2002 and two NCAA Tournament appearances (2002, 2004). After leading Hobart to the championship in 2002, he earned Patriot League “Coach of the Year” honors. Kerwick has a 109-100 career record. JU was his second stint as a head coach at the Division I level.

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