(Story courtesy of Colorado College athletics)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Susan Stuart was named West Region Coach of the Year by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association after guiding Colorado College to an 18-2 record and the No. 1 ranking in the West Region by the NCAA.
It marked the seventh time in her career and the third time in the last four years that Stuart was honored by her peers.
In addition to setting program records for victories in a single season and a .900 winning percentage, the Tigers earned the program's 11th appearance in the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship.
CC began the season with a school-record 15-game winning streak, which included victories over the other five ranked teams in the West. The Tigers prevailed in road games at No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, No. 4 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, No. 5 Occidental College and No. 6 Hamline University. They also defeated No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan University at home.
"It is an honor to be recognized by one's peers and I feel humbled," Stuart said. "This award really belongs to the dedicated student-athletes that we had this season who committed to the process, goals and ideals that our staff laid out this season.
"Also, this should be a staff-of-the-year award as it is a team effort. Lucy Gerrity and Jasmine Wallack should be included in this recognition."
Colorado College posted a 21-7 triumph over George Fox University in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament before falling at No. 6 Salisbury University, 18-8, in a regional semifinal.
The Tigers finished the 2019 season ranked No. 17 by the IWLCA in the final Division III Coaches Poll, which was the highest among the teams that did not advance to a regional final of the NCAA tournament.
Eva King became the 12th player in program history to earn All-America honors when she was named to the third team by the IWLCA. The junior attacker set personal single-season highs of 49 goals, 51 assists and 100 points.
King also became just the eighth player to record 200 or more career points during the 18-1 victory over Southwestern University in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship game.
As a team, CC finished the season ranked 12th in Division III in scoring offense (16.08 goals per game) and 28th in scoring defense (7.90 goals per game), as well as 13th in margin of victory (8.90). The Tigers also were third averaging 9.90 assists per game and fifth at 26.70 points per game.
The only head coach in the program's 25-year varsity history, Stuart now owns a 272-122-1 (.675) record, which includes an 11-11 postseason mark.
Stuart, who previously was honored by the IWLCA in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2014, 2016 and 2017, will be recognized in November at the IWLCA Annual Meetings in West Palm Beach, Fla.