Tara Singleton hired as Jacksonville University's new women's lacrosse coach
Jacksonville University moved quickly to find its next women's lacrosse coach, hiring Tara Singleton on Monday as the Dolphins' second coach in program history.
JU signed Singleton to a five-year contract. Further terms were not disclosed.
She replaces Mindy McCord, who had led the JU lacrosse squad since its inception in 2010 and built the Dolphins' program into the most consistent winner at the university. McCord stepped down in May to take over the newly-formed lacrosse program at the University of South Florida.
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"We are ecstatic to welcome Tara to Jacksonville. When we set out on this search, we were looking for someone who would value the whole person. It was clear from our first conversation that Tara was going to care deeply about our young women," JU senior vice president and athletic director Alex Ricker-Gilbert said in a statement. "She's played and coached at the highest level and has spent more than a decade in one of the finest women's lacrosse cultures in the country."
A graduate of Loyola (Md.), where she earned second-team All-America honors, Singleton served as an assistant at Loyola, UMBC and Denver before moving to Johns Hopkins.
Singleton has served as associate head coach and defensive coordinator for the past nine years with the Blue Jays. Johns Hopkins has posted winning records in each of her seasons with the school, including seven consecutive visits to the NCAA Tournament.
While at Johns Hopkins under Janine Tucker, Singleton's defensive units ranked in the top two of the Big Ten in each year since joining the conference in 2017. Tucker retired as head coach at the end of the spring after 29 years.
Singleton takes command after the long and successful tenure of McCord, who compiled a career record of 170-62 at JU with eight ASUN championships and eight trips to the NCAA Tournament. JU finished 14-5 in the spring and won the ASUN Tournament to qualify once again for the NCAAs, where they eliminated Stanford before losing to regional host Florida in the second round.
Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville University women's lacrosse names Tara Singleton head coach
