July 25, 2007

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland women's lacrosse program has hired Lauri Kenis as an assistant coach, Cathy Reese has announced. Kenis, who was an assistant at Maryland in 2004 and 2005, was a two-time consensus first team All-American defender at Virginia and spent the last two seasons at Denver.

"We are excited that Lauri has joined our staff again here at the University of Maryland," head coach Cathy Reese said. "She brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge on the defensive end and having worked with her before, I know she will make an immediate impact on our team."

Kenis returns to the red and black after serving as an assistant coach at Denver. The Pioneers went 16-3 last season and ranked ninth in the NCAA in scoring defense, allowing just 8.86 goals per game. The Pioneers also ranked 17th in caused turnovers per game. In 2006, Kenis' Pioneer defense ranked 13th in the country allowing 8.65 goals per outing as they went 15-5 under Reese who was head coach there for three years.

Kenis aided the Terrapins to a 27-12 record and a pair of NCAA appearances in her first stint as an assistant coach in 2004 and 2005 under Cindy Timchal. In 2004, Kenis guided one of the top defenses in the nation as the Terps allowed just 7.90 goals per game which was tops in the ACC and fifth in the nation. In 2005, the Maryland defense again held opponents under 10 goals per game as it allowed 9.21 per outing.

As a student-athlete, Kenis helped the Cavaliers to a pair of NCAA finals appearances and also led them to two berths in the ACC finals. The four-year letterwinner was a two-time all-conference honoree while earning NCAA and ACC All-Tournament accolades.

Kenis ranks third all-time in Virginia history with 107 caused turnovers and started every game in her final two seasons in Charlottesville. She was a two-time member of the Virginia All-State team and ranked second on the team in ground balls and caused turnovers in her junior and senior seasons.