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The only head coach in University of North Carolina women's lacrosse history and among the collegiate game's most noted figures, Jenny Levy built a program from scratch and has solidified it among the nation's top programs in her tenure in Chapel Hill. Carolina is an NCAA Tournament mainstay from the most competitive women's lacrosse conference in the nation and should be one of the better teams in the country again this season. Now in her 14th season, Levy aims for a fourth NCAA Final Four appearance and second Atlantic Coast Confernce championship in 2009. In 2008, Levy guided Carolina to a 13-7 record, the ACC Tournament semifinals and the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels have reached the NCAA quarterfinals in each of the last four seasons. Overall, Levy has guided Carolina to 10 NCAA Tournament bids, three Final Four appearances and an Atlantic Coast Conference title in her 13 seasons. She has a career record of 161-74 entering the 2009 campaign. Levy is a regular on various national committees, including the IWLCA rules committee from 1997-99, later serving as its chair from 2000-06. She also was a member of the US Lacrosse rules committee from 2000-06 and the NCAA rules committee from 2006-08. She was a member of the NCAA South Region Selection Committee from 197-98 and the group's chair from 1998-2000. Levy represented the South Region on the All-America committee in 1999, was the regional chair and a member of the national committee from 2000-02 and was chair of the national body from 2003-07. She also founded the Carolina Fever club program in 2004. Levy's teams are known for their consistently strong academic performances and community involvement in the Chapel Hill area. The Tar Heel women's lacrosse team annually places a significant portion of its members on the ACC Honor Roll and Dean's List. "With the performance of our women's lacrosse team both on and off the field, I think it has become obvious that the selection of Jenny for the job as head coach in 1994 was a magnificent choice," says Athletic Director Dick Baddour. Levy led the Tar Heels to a record of 12-4 and a national ranking of No. 13 in the program's first season in 1996. In 1997, Carolina advanced to the NCAA Final Four in only its second season of varsity play. Levy was named ACC Coach of the Year. Carolina went 15-3 overall and 3-0 in the ACC in 1998, advancing to the ACC championship game and the NCAA Final Four while also winning the ACC regular-season title. Carolina was ranked No. 2 in the final IWLCA poll after spending several weeks during the course of the season as the nation's top-ranked team. In 2000, the Tar Heels again advanced to the ACC Tournament championship game and tied for the ACC regular-season title. In 2002, the Tar Heels won their first ACC championship. Carolina set a school record for wins, going 17-3, and reached the NCAA Final Four for a third time. Levy was named the co-ACC Coach of the Year. Carolina reached the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and ended the `06 season with a 4-1 ACC record that tied for first place in the league. An outstanding women's lacrosse player at the University of Virginia from 1988-92 and an assistant field hockey and assistant women's lacrosse coach at Georgetown University from 1993-94, Levy was named as Carolina's first-ever head women's lacrosse coach in October 1994. She is a 1992 graduate of the University of Virginia with a BA in rhetoric and communications and was a member of the U.S. Women's Lacrosse National Team in 1992-93 and again in 1995. Levy (then known as Jenny Slingluff) was a member of the UVa women's lacrosse team from 1988-1992 and was named the squad's captain and most valuable player as a senior. She led the Cavaliers to their first-ever Division I National Collegiate Women's Lacrosse Championship in 1991. She scored three goals in the championship game and five in the national semifinal game, leading to her selection as the tournament's Most Outstanding Attacker. A first-team All-America as a junior and senior, Levy was named the 1992 NCAA Attack Player-of-the-Year. She led Virginia in both goals and assists in 1992 with 52 and 13, respectively, and finished with career totals of 118 goals and 34 assists. In 2002, she was named one of the top 50 players in ACC history. In 2005, she was inducted into the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Levy was married to Dan Levy of Baltimore, Md., in June 1998. Dan is a 1993 UNC alumnus who played lacrosse at Carolina for four years, starring on the 1991 NCAA championship team. The couple has three children -- Ryan (born in Jan. 2002), Alec (born in Sept. 2003) and Kathryn (born in July 2006). |
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