Sue Stimmel, the only women’s lacrosse coach in Ohio State history, announced her resignation Wednesday.
In her 15 seasons at OSU, Stimmel accumulated a 122-111 record, and an overall career record of 198-130 with her six seasons coaching at Denison University.
She led the Buckeyes to NCAA tournament appearances in the 2002 and 2003 seasons, as well as an ALC Championship in 2003.
“She will be sorely missed,” OSU athletic director Gene Smith said in a press release. “We appreciate the great work she has done to start and establish our women’s lacrosse program. She is truly an outstanding person, and we thank her for all she gave the student-athletes and Buckeye Nation.”
Senior captain Rachael Cornicello said Stimmel’s decision came as a shock to the team.
“She hadn’t said anything during the season about it so that’s why we were a little surprised,” she said. “But we’re trying to see good in it and we still love her as our coach.”
Cornicello said her teammates are keeping their heads high and hoping that the program will change for the better.
“The sport in general has changed so much even in the past five years, so maybe someone who could bring new ideas to the program would be good,” she said.
Though the team is looking to the future, Stimmel will assuredly be missed.
“Sue happens to be a very funny person,” said Cornicello. “So her humor will be something that we’ll miss along with her dedication to the team. This has really been her life for the past 15 years. Her dedication to the sport reflects in how we play.”
Stimmel attributed her decision to leave to her desire to move on and pursue other professional opportunities.
“I want to thank The Ohio State University and the athletics department for the past 15 years,” Stimmel said in a press release. “Building the program has been a truly amazing experience, one that gave me the opportunity to work with wonderful student-athletes and exceptional people. I believe the time has come for me to move on to new challenges and to explore other opportunities.”
What these opportunities may be is thus far unclear.
“I really don’t know what her plans are,” said Cornicello. “I can definitely see her coaching somewhere in future. She’s so dedicated to the sport and it’s something that makes her happy.”
