Men's Lacrosse | 10/21/2011 1:18:00 PM

ROCHESTER, NY -- Jake Coon, head coach of the RIT men's lacrosse team, was named Div. III Coach of the Year on Friday by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. Coon will be honored along with University of Virginia head coach Dom Starsia and Mercyhurst head coach Chris Ryan will be honored at the IMLCA/USILA Luncheon at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland on December 2, 2011.

In 2011 Coon, now in his third season at RIT, was named the Empire 8 Coach of the Year for the second straight season after leading the Tigers to their second consecutive Empire 8 Championship and a magical run to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Championship.  RIT, who finished 19-1, advanced to the national semifinals for the first time since the 1999 season. The 19 wins was a program record and the 19 straight wins to start the season was also a program record.

In his first two seasons, Coon has amassed an impressive 33-7 record, two conference championships and two straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. He mentored eight All-Empire 8 selections including Empire 8 Player of the Year MJ Kiekebelt (Caledon, Ontario/St. Andrews College/Aurora) in 2011. Kiekebelt along with seniors Kelso Davis (Freeport, ME/Deerfield Academy), Jordan MacIntosh (Oakville, ON/Holy Trinity) and Bob Tonnessen (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) and junior Tyler Russell (Livonia, NY/Livonia) were All-American selections.  Davis and Iric Bressler (Stafford, VA/North Stafford) were USILA All-Academic selections and Davis was a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American selection. MacIntosh was was the fourth overall selection in the National Lacrosse League draft.

A native of Homer, N.Y., Coon played professionally for the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League from 2000-2003, and for the Rochester Rattlers of the Major League Lacrosse from 2001-2005 and the Boston Cannons from 2005-2009.

He is a 2001 graduate of Nazareth College, where he excelled on the field, helping the Golden Flyers to the 1997 NCAA Division III championship. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in social science and a minor in sports management. He was a four-time All-American, two-year captain and a two-time Division III Goalie of the Year selection.