Women's Lacrosse | 4/9/2020 9:54:00 AM

PITTSFORD, N.Y. - One of the most successful coaches in St. John Fisher College athletics history, Linda Michele of the nationally-ranked women's lacrosse team has been recognized by the Rochester Press Radio Club as its Jean Giambrone Award recipient for her commitment and dedication to women's sports.

The award is named after long-time journalist and University of Rochester Hall of Famer, Jean Giambrone who spent 42 years at the Times-Union, and in 1965, became the first female golf writer to be awarded press credentials at The Masters.  Over a nearly five-decade career, Giambrone has been called the woman who opened doors for female athletes and was widely considered Rochester's First Lady of Sports.  The award, which was named in her honor in 1982, is given annually to a person who has made an exemplary lifetime commitment to local women's sports.

Since taking over the reins of the Cardinals' lacrosse program in 2012, Michele has guided Fisher to an unprecedented eight consecutive Empire 8 Championships and eight NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championships.  In that time, Michele has amassed 130 wins including 52 victories against Empire 8 competition and owns a career mark of 153-45 (.773).  Under her guidance, the Cardinals have posted 15 wins or more in a season seven times overall including a program record 19 wins in 2019.

With Michele on the sidelines, Fisher has been ranked every season in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association poll and finished the abbreviated 2020 campaign ranked 12th.  Under her guidance, Fisher is at its best in the postseason as the Cardinals have gone 16-0 in the Empire 8 Championship and have reached the second round or better in the NCAA Championship five times overall including a run to the Sweet 16 in 2016 and 2019.

Over the last eight years, Michele has coached some of the top players to ever don the Cardinal and Gold with 50 student-athletes being named All-Conference by the Empire 8 under her watch.  Additionally, Michele has mentored four All-Americans and numerous All-Region selections while at Fisher.

During her tenure, Fisher has set and broken several program records including the 2019 season as the Cardinals posted 19 wins, which is the most in team history.  Furthermore, Michele's teams have demonstrated their all-around abilities in the classroom as the Cardinals routinely earn academic praise from both the Empire 8 and the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Association.

Prior to joining Fisher, Michele had a successful two-year stint at The College at Brockport where she led the Golden Eagles to 23 wins from 2010-11 and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship.  In her first season at the helm in 2010, Michele turned around a program that had posted just five wins in 2009 as the Golden Eagles qualified for their first-ever NCAA Championship.

Michele's scholastic coaching resume is even more impressive. Prior to Brockport, she served as the head coach at East Rochester High School where she compiled a career record of 160-40. Over 13 seasons, she guided the team to four Section V Championships and three New York State Final appearances. The East Rochester native also coached at the Albany Girls Academy from 1990 to 1996, where she finished with a 78-14 record.

In 2001, she formed the Lady Roc Lacrosse Club, a premier travel lacrosse team for girls in the Rochester and Buffalo region. Michele has also served as the USWLA and US Lacrosse National Tournament Director, US Lacrosse coach and Empire State Games Western Region coach. 

She was inducted into the Rochester Chapter of US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2008.

In addition to her extensive lacrosse resume, Michele coached field hockey at East Rochester from 1999-2008 where she compiled a record of 185-28-12 and led the Bombers to three Class C Sectional Championships.

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CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
Overall record over 576-127 between high school and college – this includes her time as a field hockey coach
Overall career winning percentage of .819 for all sports
10 NCAA appearances between Fisher and Brockport
2 Sweet 16 appearances in the last five years
8 Empire 8 conference championships
7 Sectional titles including three New York State Finals appearances
Fisher's all-time leader in wins (women's lacrosse)