Email Coach Farquhar at lfarquha@sju.edu
Four-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year Lynn Farquhar has brought the Saint Joseph's field hockey program to new ground throughout her tenure, which wrapped up its eighth season in 2021.
Under Farquhar's watch the Hawks have claimed five Atlantic 10 regular season titles and won four Atlantic 10 Championships en route to the first NCAA Tournament berths in program history. She has also guided the Hawks to national prominence, with SJU reaching the top 10 of the NFHCA Coaches Poll in both 2018, 2019, and 2021, including a ranking of #10 in the final poll of the 2018 campaign. The Hawks reached as high as #8 in the poll in September of 2021.
In addition to serving as the Hawks' head coach, Farquhar has also been active with USA Field Hockey and the NCAA. She has been part of the training camp coaching staff and selection process for the U-17 and U-21 National Teams, organizing practice sessions and providing feedback on players who will eventually go on to represent the United States.
Farquhar also serves on both the NCAA Division I Tournament Committee and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Advisory Committee. As a regional advisor, she is part of the group that ranks teams within the Mid-Atlantic Region, while her role on the Tournament Committee sees her take part in the selection process and the building of the bracket for the annual Division I Championship. Farquhar has also maintained a presence in the campus community as well, serving as an Orientation Facilitator and giving presentations to incoming freshmen at Saint Joseph's.
Under Farquhar's guidance, Hawk student-athletes have earned...
• ...nine NFHCA All-America accolades, including two First Team honors
• ...13 Atlantic 10 Player/Rookie of the Year honors
• ...two ECAC Player/Rookie of the Year awards
• ...26 All-Region selections, 13 of them to the First Team
• ...62 Atlantic 10 All-Conference selections, 25 of them to the First Team
• ...nine All-ECAC honors
• ...16 Atlantic 10 All-Academic nods
• ...26 Atlantic 10 All-Championship selections
• ...five NFHCA Senior All-Star selections
• ...97 NFHCA National Academic Squad accolades
The Hawks returned to the top of the Atlantic 10 in 2021, claiming their fifth regular season title in six years and the program's fourth tournament championship in five seasons en route to a fourth NCAA Tournament berth. Saint Joseph's reached its highest national ranking in program history on September 21 after a weekend that saw the Hawks top both the fourth-ranked three-time defending national champion in North Carolina and eighth-ranked Rutgers, which would end the season atop the polls and as the number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Freke van Tilburg earned Second Team All-America honors while Manu Ghigliott and Sol Borensztein were tabbed as the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player and Rookie of the Year, respectively. Farquhar earned some hardware herself as well, garnering her fifth conference Coach of the Year award.
Saint Joseph's made its fifth consecutive trip to the Atlantic 10 championship game during the 2020-21 season, altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hawks worked through a number of game cancellations to qualify for the postseason with a dramatic 5-4 win over UMass on the final day of the regular season. Anna Miller and Katy Benton earned First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors as sophomores, with Miller also garnering First Team All-Region accolades.
The Hawks solidified their place on the national stage in 2019, once again reaching the top 10 and claiming both the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament championships. SJU posted its third unbeaten conference record in four seasons, and held the nation's longest active home winning streak across all divisions at 31 games. A 1-0 win at Richmond on November 9 gave the Hawks the first Atlantic 10 three-peat by any program in school history.
Led by First Team All-America Pepa Serrano and Third Team selection Tonya Botherway, the Hawks were once again one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation, ending the season ranked second Division I in goals per game, assists per game, points per game, and scoring average, as well as third in scoring margin and fourth in winning percentage. Serrano, who would become SJU's all-time leader in assists during the season, was named the Atlantic 10's Offensive Player of the Year, while Kathrin Bentz gave the Hawks their third consecutive Defensive Player of the Year honoree. Farquhar nabbed her fourth Coach of the Year plaque as well.
The Hawks' Class of 2020 wrapped up its four-year career with 68 victories, a 38-2 record against Atlantic 10 competition, a pair of top-10 national rankings, and three Atlantic 10 championship rings. Both Bentz and classmate Courtney Gerber established a new program record after playing in every game throughout their collegiate careers for a total of 85 appearances; Bentz established a new mark for career starts, as she was on the field for the opening whistle of all 85 contests.
The 2018 squad enjoyed a special season, tying the program record of 18 wins set a season earlier and reaching the program's highest-ever ranking in the NFHCA Coaches Poll. After being ranked in every poll throughout the season, the Hawks finished the year at #10 in the nation. SJU won its second consecutive Atlantic 10 tournament crown with a 1-0 win over VCU at Ellen Ryan Field on November 3; the victory also capped a 14-game winning streak that also set a new program record.
Senior forward Anna Willocks cemented her place in program history in 2018 as she became the first Hawk to earn three NFHCA All-America accolades in her career, and just the second First Team selection in SJU history. Willocks etched her name in the record books during her senior season as well, taking over the program's all-time lead in goals, assists, and points.
Junior goalkeeper Victoria Kammerinke earned her second consecutive All-America honor when she was tabbed for the Second Team, while junior midfielder Pepa Serrano's selection to the Third Team gave SJU three All-Americans for the first time in program history. Kammerinke also made Hawk history by earning her second consecutive Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year honor, becoming the first SJU student-athlete to garner the award on multiple occasions, while freshman forward Tonya Botherway was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, giving the Hawks four consecutive A-10 top rookie honors.
For her efforts, Farquhar was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season, becoming the first to earn the award three seasons in a row in 25 years. She was also honored with the 2019 Philadelphia Coaches Conference Collegiate Coach of the Year award as well.
In 2017, the Hawks enjoyed the finest season in the program's history, as Saint Joseph's won its first Atlantic 10 crown in 22 years and made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Hawks notched a program-record 18 victories and finished the season ranked 15th in the final NFHCA Coaches Poll. After moving into second place on the program's all-time wins list, Farquhar was named the ECAC Division I Coach of the Year and also nabbed her second consecutive Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honor as well.
Willocks claimed her third consecutive Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year honor, becoming the first in league history to achieve that feat. She also earned NFHCA All-America Second Team honors for the second consecutive season, becoming the first Hawk to earn multiple All-America selections. Kammerinke was tabbed for the All-America Third Team, becoming the fourth Hawk in program history to earn All-America accolades.
The Hawks announced their return to the upper echelon of the Atlantic 10 with a 15-6 campaign in 2016. SJU posted an 8-0 mark in Atlantic 10 play, giving the Hawks their first regular season league crown since 1995. Farquhar guided the Hawks to the Atlantic 10 championship game as well for the first time since 2007 en route to earning Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honors.
Willocks put together arguably the greatest offensive season in program history, tallying 25 goals, 12 assists, and 62 points en route to Second Team All-America honors, making her just the third NFHCA All-American in program history. She also claimed her second consecutive Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year honor. Willocks was joined on the All-Conference First Team by senior Kerri Turk, who enjoyed a breakout season in her final year on Hawk Hill, and Serrano.
Farquhar's success on the recruiting front bore fruit as well, as a talented freshman class earned at least a share of the Atlantic 10's Rookie of the Week honor every week of the season. Serrano was named the league's Rookie of the Year, while three of her classmates joined her on the All-Rookie Team.
Saint Joseph's returned to the postseason in 2015 after a six-year absence. The Hawks posted their second consecutive 9-9 record, and ended the regular season on a four-game winning streak, the program's longest stretch without a defeat in seven years. Farquhar's charges led the Atlantic 10 in goals per game, assists per game, and points per game, ranking among the top 22 in the country in all three categories.
Willocks broke onto the scene by claiming Atlantic 10 Offensive Player and Rookie of the Year honors, in addition to joining graduate student Jenny Morris on the All-Conference First Team. Willocks led the conference in both goals and points, and she led all Division I freshmen in all three categories as well. Farquhar also coached freshman standout Monica Tice to a spot on the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team, while Tice and Willocks both earned All-Rookie nods.
Farquhar's first season on the sidelines at Ellen Ryan Field saw Saint Joseph's post a 9-9 mark, the Hawks' highest win total since the 2008 campaign. In addition, SJU started the season with wins in its first two games for the first time since 2006.
Seniors Jordan Martin and Nicole Gerdes had career years under Farquhar's guidance, as Martin was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team and Gerdes earned Second Team honors. Freshman Melissa Herd was also tabbed for the league's All-Rookie Team.
Saint Joseph's marks Farquhar's first head coaching stint after serving as an assistant on the staffs of a number of highly-regarded Division I programs. She helped steer those teams to six NCAA Tournament berths, five conference championships, and one Final Four. She also has a proven track record of success on the recruiting trail, both domestically and with student-athletes from around the world.
That knack for finding talent overseas has borne itself out in her time at Saint Joseph's, as the Hawks have welcomed student-athletes from Germany, the Netherlands, Scotland, and New Zealand during her tenure.
Farquhar (FAR-kwar) spent the 2013 season on the staff at Delaware, where she helped guide the Blue Hens to one of the best seasons in program history. Delaware went undefeated in the Colonial Athletic Association and swept the regular season and tournament championships en route to a berth in the NCAA Tournament. A number of student-athletes Farquhar recruited to UD went on to help the Blue Hens claim the 2016 national championship.
Prior to her stint at Delaware, Farquhar served as the associate head coach at both James Madison University and Syracuse University. The Dukes reached the CAA Tournament in both of her seasons at JMU, while Syracuse reached the Final Four in 2008, the national quarterfinals in 2009 and 2010, and four consecutive Big East Tournaments in her four seasons in New York.
Farquhar arrived on Hawk Hill as no stranger to Atlantic 10 competition, as she began her coaching career as an assistant at the University of Richmond. In two seasons, she helped guide the Spiders to a pair of Atlantic 10 championships and NCAA Tournament berths.
She is active with the United States Field Hockey Association, serving as a High Performance assistant coach and as an administrator at the USA Field Hockey Women's National Championship in 2014. A member of the Alliance of Women's Coaches, she has displayed a passion for sharing the impact that sport has on life skills and development.
A 2005 graduate of Old Dominion, Farquhar was a part of the Monarchs' squad that won the national championship in 2000. The native of Alexandria, Virginia, was also named an Academic All-American and a regional First Team honoree during her playing career.
