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Posts Tagged ‘Lacrosse’

NittanyWhiteOut

You’ve got to hand it to Tim Curley and the athletics department,  Faced with the adversity of four coaching vacancies in one offseason, they remain unfazed and simply replace the departing coaching legends with another.

The track record speaks for itself. Wrestling legend Cael Sanderson was snatched away from powerhouse Iowa State to to take over the wrestling program, Bob Warming was hired from his successful stint at Creighton to replace legendary Barry Gorman and now Penn State has lured Jeff Tambroni away from Cornell, member of the lacrosse powerhouse conference that is the Ivy league. In fact, the Ivy league has been represented in 9 of the last 18 championship games, returning with the title 6 times.

Even in the highly competitive league, Tambroni has led the Cornell Big Red to 8 consecutive Ivy league championships and 8 NCAA appearances including 3 quarterfinal, 2 semifinal and 1 title game appearance in just 10 seasons. Promising numbers for Penn State lacrosse fans who watched the program struggle in recent years under departed head coach Glenn Thiel. Thiel only managed to lead the Lions to 2 NCAA appearances in 33 seasons never making it past the first round.

Jeff Tambroni currently sits 5th among active Division I coaches in winning percentages (109-40 for .732) and is the 10th fastest coach to reach the 100-win milestone in just 134 games. His players have earned a combined 39 All-American honors

Despite his sparkling resume, it is his dedication to his player’s performance in the classroom that makes Tambroni the perfect fit at Penn State. In 10 seasons at Cornell, his players have accounted for 5 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, 3 Academic All-America second-team recipients, 2 Academic All-America first-team honorees and 2 Lowe’s Senior Class award, an honor that is given on the merits of classroom, competition, community and character.

Tambroni’s hire almost did not happen when Penn State originally targeted current Brown coach and past Penn State assistant coach, Lars Tiffany who eventually turned down the opportunity. Although Tiffany’s ties to the Nittany Lions makes him a good candidate to replace Glenn Thiel, he has since compiled a 38-20 record (.655) since 2007 at Brown including 2 shared Ivy league titles (with Cornell) and 1 NCAA berth. Jeff Tambroni however has led the Big Red to 9 consecutive seasons with 9 or more wins including a 73-21 (.776) record in the past 6 seasons and 51-15 (.773) since 2007. Tambroni was also a candidate for the Maryland vacancy before Penn State hired him. It may seem Tiffany’s rejection could very well be a blessing in disguise.

We look forward to welcoming Jeff Tambroni to the Penn State family and eagerly anticipate the heights he might elevate Penn State lacrosse to.

Related Posts:

1. Success with Honor: Creighton’s Bob Warming declared Penn State’s soccer coach
2. Farewell to Penn State Women’s LAX coach
3. Farewell to Penn State Women’s Gymnastics coach