Moraga, CA - The Saint Mary's College community is saddened to learn that head women's lacrosse coach Diane Whipple died Friday afternoon in San Francisco. The 33-year old Whipple came to the College as head coach on October 7, 1999.
Whipple became the College's first women's varsity lacrosse coach when the sport was elevated to Division I from the club sport level last year. She guided the program to an 8-8 finish in its inaugural season and was highly respected by peers and players.
Whipple came to Saint Mary's from The Menlo School, where she was the head coach in 1999 and an assistant coach with the program in 1998. She was also the head coach at UC San Diego during the 1992 and 1993 seasons. As a collegiate player at Penn State, she was a two-time first team All-American and was the NCAA Final Four MVP Midfielder in 1989. In 1990, Whipple was named the NCAA National Player of the Year and the Penn State Female Athlete of the Year.
"It is with much sadness that we have learned of the passing of our head women's lacrosse coach, a trusted and loyal member of our College community," said Brother Craig Franz FSC, Saint Mary's College President. "Her passing at such a young age makes this particularly difficult for us. We extend our thoughts and prayers to her family, friends, and our players, and share with them through the strength of our faith that she is with her Creator. We will continue to keep Diane in our prayers. The College community will celebrate her life in an appropriate eucharistic remembrance early next week."
College personnel were on hand Saturday morning to meet with members of the team and those affected by this incident. Members of the Department of Athletics and Recreational Sports, as well as staff from the Office of Student Affairs met with the students to support them at this sad time.
"We have great concern for everyone affected by this tragedy," commented Carl Clapp, Director of Athletics and Recreational Sports. "Diane brought a tremendous amount of passion and intensity to her job and she truly loved working with her players. It will be difficult to replace what Diane has brought to the program over the past two years."
