Denise Wescott, the Mount St. Mary’s women’s lacrosse head coach, earned the Diane Geppi-Aikens Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement, announced by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Association (IWLCA) recently. The award was presented in conjunction with the IWLCA annual convention at the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort in Clearwater, Florida at the IWLCA Awards banquet presented by STX.

Wescott, who is in her second season at the Mount, has served multiple roles throughout her career in service both specifically to IWLCA and to the lacrosse community as a whole. She is currently Vice President for Education and Development of the International Federation of Women’s Lacrosse Associations (IFWLA). She also served as the president of the IWLCA.

Wescott was appointed to the US Women’s Lacrosse Association’s Rules Committee in 1986 and served on the committee for the next 15 years. During that time she also held leadership positions within the IWLCA, including two terms as the treasurer (1989-1994) and a term as the president (1999-2001). In 2003, Wescott was named to the NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championships committee and helped oversee the NCAA National Championships during the 2003-2004 academic year. She previously served on the NCAA Regional Committees.

A 25-year veteran of the coaching ranks, Wescott has mentored at both the collegiate and international levels after serving as the head coach of the German National Women’s Lacrosse team from 1994-2005. Her German squads went to eight European Cups and two World Cups. In 2000, the German squad advanced to the World Cup in England for the first time. She has worked lacrosse camps and clinics in Germany, England, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand since 1993.

A long-time US National team selector, Wescott served two terms as the Chair of the US National Team Selection Committee. She has continued her association with the national governing body as a clinician and contributing author of the Coaches’ Education Program, an initiative by US Lacrosse to create a multi-level, national, standardized education curriculum and additional resources that are accessible to all coaches at every level.

From 1993-2004 Wescott served as the head coach of the Delaware women’s team, coaching the Blue Hens to the America East title in 1997, 1998, and 1999. Delaware advanced to the NCAA Division I NCAA Tournament first round in 2000, earning an at-large bid after finishing second in the conference. Wescott was named America East Coach of the Year in 1996 and 1997. She also served as the assistant field hockey coach for four seasons.

Prior to her time in Newark, Wescott was the head women's lacrosse coach at Rutgers University from 1991- 93 and served as the field hockey and women's lacrosse coach at Drew University for the 1989-1990 season. She also was an assistant field hockey and women's lacrosse coach for two years at Penn State and four years at the University of Maryland.

Wescott began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Michigan State. Wescott was a four-year starting goalkeeper and captain at the University of Maryland. In her four years, the Terrapins went 50-11-1 and advanced to the AIAW tournament three times, including falling to Penn State 9-3 in national championship game in 1978. She ranks fourth on the program's all-time saves list with 519 stops and boasted a 6.99 goals against average in her career. She was named to the USWLA All-Star team and USWLA Final Four All-Tournament team in 1980.