Original article (Maness Tabbed Next Kennesaw State Women’s Lacrosse Coach) on the Kennesaw State University’s athletic website ksuowls.com.
A coaching veteran who brings more than a decade of experience, Laura Maness has been named Kennesaw State’s head lacrosse coach. The announcement was made Friday, July 1 by Katie Egloff, Associate Athletics Director/SWA.
Maness joins the Owls after spending the previous five seasons at University of Detroit Mercy. She led the Titans to four straight Atlantic Sun Tournament Championship game appearances and became the winningest coach in program history.
“We are excited that Laura Maness will be the next women’s lacrosse coach at Kennesaw State,” Egloff said. “She has enjoyed success within the Atlantic Sun Conference and brings a proven track record of building young programs. We’re thrilled to welcome Laura to the Owls Family and are confident in her ability to recruit high-quality student-athletes to our program.”
Maness brings 11 years of experience as a head coach to Kennesaw State after leading programs across all three divisions at Detroit (2012-2016), Lake Erie College (2009-11) and Waynesburg University (2006-08).
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to coach at Kennesaw State,” Maness said. “I would like to thank Vaughn Williams and Katie Egloff for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. After visiting campus, the energy is palpable. There is tremendous potential at Kennesaw State when you consider the support for the program, the outstanding facilities and its location in an emerging lacrosse community. I look forward to working with the current players on the team and hitting the recruiting trail to add even more talent.”
Kennesaw State begins its fifth season as a program in 2017 and Maness is no stranger to upstart programs. She was the inaugural coach at both Lake Erie College and Waynesburg University while taking over at Detroit after its third season.
In her five years at Detroit, she coached one ASUN Player of the Year, one Defensive Player of the Year, one Freshman of the Year, 12 first-team All-ASUN selections, nine second-team All-ASUN selections and mentored the Scholar Athlete of the Year the past two seasons. The IWLCA honored the Titans as an All-Academic Squad each season.
Each season with Maness at the helm, the Titans improved. The team finished above .500 in each of the last two seasons, including a school-record 12-win season in 2016. The 2016 campaign also saw Detroit become the first-ever ASUN school to knock off Jacksonville en route to the program’s fourth straight appearance in the ASUN championship game.
Before coaching at Detroit, Maness was the inaugural coach for Lake Erie College at the Division II level. After 18 months of preparation, she led the Storm to a 7-7 record in its first season. Lake Erie was named an All-Merit squad and an All-Academic squad.
Maness began her coaching career at Morgantown High School while attending West Virginia University. She began as an assistant at Morgantown High in 2002 and was promoted to head coach in 2004. The team won four state championships during her tenure. Maness also served on the coaching staff for the Midwestern Force club lacrosse team during the summer.
In 2006, Maness was the head coach at Division III Wayneburg State in Pennsylvania where she guided that program in its first two years of existence.
Maness earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Nutrition and Food Science at West Virginia. During her time at Waynesburg, she earned a Master’s of Business Administration in 2008.