| Lauren Thomer's Valiants went
9-15 this past season after averaging 18 wins over her first two
seasons following Candice Brown. Manhattanville athletics photo by Gene Boyars |
After three seasons at the helm of the Manhattanville women's basketball program, coach Lauren Thomer has stepped down to accept the top assistant job at Yale, Manhattanville athletic director Keith Levinthal announced on Friday.
“When I hire coaches like Lauren, I do so knowing that
talented people like her are eventually going to move on,”
Levinthal said. “It has been our department philosophy to
bring in young, skilled coaches and allow them to develop their
crafts toward moving up the professional ranks. Lauren certainly
did that here and for the last three years our basketball program
was the beneficiary.”
Thomer made a big impact on the program in only three seasons,
posting a 45-32 (.584) record and leading the team to a pair of
first-place regular-season finishes in the MAC Freedom Conference.
In her first season, she was named the Freedom Conference Coach of
the Year after posting a 19-8 (12-2 MAC Freedom) record, the
second-most wins by a first-year coach in team history and the
fourth-highest single-season total overall at the school. She also
guided the team to its first-ever regular-season conference title
in 2009-10, a feat that she duplicated the following year with a
17-9 (10-4 MAC Freedom) mark. Included in that run was the
program's first win over a nationally ranked team since 1982 and
the first D3hoops.com All-Region selection in program annals.
"I am forever grateful for the opportunity Keith gave me to lead
this program over the past three years,” said Thomer.
“It has been a great journey and learning experience. It's a
bittersweet time and never easy to say goodbye, but I wish our
players all the best, thank them for their efforts, and
congratulate them on all of their accomplishments. I feel confident
that this team will continue to grow and experience great success
next season.”
Thomer finishes her three-year stint at Manhattanville ranked third
all-time in wins at the school and moves on to a Yale program that
finished 2011-12 with a 16-12 record and is two years removed from
an appearance in the Women's NIT.
“Lauren's passion for the game and the coaching profession
will be missed, but we wish her nothing but the best as she embarks
on the next stage of her career,” Levinthal added.
Levinthal noted that a national search for Thomer's successor will
begin immediately.