Women's Lacrosse | 8/11/2023 12:00:00 PM
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. Methodist University Vice President and Director of Athletics Dave Eavenson announced on Friday that head women's lacrosse coach
Rebecca Hart (Sheinfeld) is stepping down from her role at Methodist to accept a coaching position at a NCAA Division I institution.
As her teams exhibited improvement since her arrival prior to the 2019 season, Hart became the winningest coach in Methodist women's lacrosse history.
"Rebecca has done an exceptional job as the leader of our women's lacrosse program and has built our program into a contender in the USA South," Eavenson said. "She has also had a significant impact on our department in her role with SAAC as well as the positive impact she has made bringing the One Love Escalation Training to our campus. We thank her for all she has done for MU, our student-athletes and our women's lacrosse program and we wish her well as she enters the next chapter of her coaching career."
During her first season at Methodist, Hart guided the Monarchs to eight wins – seven of which came versus USA South opponents. At 2-7 on the season, her team caught fire as it knocked off the final five opponents of the regular season, then earned a win in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament to cap off a six-game win streak – the program's longest since 2006.
Following a 10-8 finish in 2022 that tied for the second most wins in school history, Hart led the Monarchs to a program-record 12-win season in 2023. In both of those seasons, the team earned the right to host a match during the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal round, then advanced to the semifinals.
Hart coached numerous all-conference players during her five seasons at Methodist (including
Kennedy Martin, the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year), and she also saw players shatter multiple program records and USA South records.
"Thank you so much to Dave Eavenson and DeeDee Jarman for their support of the women's lacrosse program and the trust they had in my coaching staff during my time at Methodist," Hart said. "I am incredibly grateful for my time at Methodist, the connections made, and the work the players have put in to grow the program to where it is today. It has been a privilege to work with our student-athletes and I look forward to watching the future success of Methodist Lacrosse and Athletics."
