Onondaga Community College has announced that it will field a women's lacrosse team during the 2008-2009 season. Women's lacrosse will bring Onondaga's athletics programs to a total of nine NJCAA intercollegiate men's and women's teams.

"Women's lacrosse is a great addition to the College's stellar line-up of sports teams," said OCC President Debbie L. Sydow, Ph.D. "Building upon the historic back-to-back national championships of the Onondaga men's lacrosse team in 2006 and 2007, the College is poised to continue the tradition of excellence among student-athletes in women's lacrosse."

Amy Spin, of Auburn, has been named the coach of the Onondaga Community College women's lacrosse team. Spin is a full-time physical education teacher at Auburn High School where she also coaches lacrosse. In 2007, she was named Onondaga High School League (OHSL) Colonial American Division Coach of the Year for Section 3. Prior to her work at Auburn High School, Spin was the associate head coach of the women's lacrosse team at Cayuga Community College. In 2004, the team won the Region III Championship and played in the NJCAA Final Four. In 2005, Spin's team was Region III runner-up and secured an at-large bid to the National Tournament to play in the NJCAA Final Four.

"We are thrilled to have women's lacrosse at Onondaga," said Onondaga athletics director Robert McKenney. "Coach Amy Spin comes to us with impressive credentials and I am confident that under her leadership the women's lacrosse team will be competitive right from the start."

Spin earned a bachelor of science in business administration from Trinity College, where she played lacrosse for three years and helped start Trinity College's original lacrosse team. She also earned a bachelor of science in physical education from SUNY Cortland and is completing a master of science in coaching pedagogy at SUNY Cortland.

2007-11-01