NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- MCLA Athletic Director Laura Mooney Tuesday announced the hiring of Kaitlin Feeney as the new women's lacrosse coach.

 

Feeney will replace Maria Bartini, who led the Trailblazers during their first four seasons at the varsity level.

 

Feeney began her duties at MCLA on Aug. 1.

 

"Kaitlin's head coaching experience and recruiting ties in New England made her a strong candidate for the position," Mooney said. "Her passion for the overall development of her athletes and her desire to build a competitive program align perfectly with the vision of the department." 

 

Feeney was selected after a nationwide search of candidates. Last season, she served as the head coach at Bay Path University in Longmeadow, where the Wildcats went 3-4 in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC). She also served as the head coach for a season at Olivet College in Olivet, Mich., and West Virginia Wesleyan, a Division II school in Buckhannon, W.Va.

 

Feeney played collegiately at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., for four seasons.  She was named captain during her senior season and was an all-academic team selection in the Old Dominion Athletics Conference. After receiving her bachelor's degree in health sciences from Guilford, Feeney moved on to graduate school at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fla. There, she coached the school’s lacrosse team while she earned her degree in sports and exercise science. 

 

While at UCF, Feeney turned around the club program and in her final season as coach in 2015, she was named the Southeastern Women's Lacrosse League Coach of the Year. 

 

"I am incredibly excited to join the MCLA department of athletics and am thrilled to be back in New England in the lacrosse culture that I remember as an athlete," Feeney said. "I enjoy the atmosphere that a small liberal arts college brings to both the athletic and the academic experience for student athletes. The success of the team off the field -- in the classroom, and the community -- will be a point of emphasis this year."

 

The veteran head coach inherits a Trailblazers squad looking to find some footing in the MASCAC. MCLA returns a host of key players from the 2018 squad who anticipate their first conference victory. The Trailblazers and Feeney will begin their season in March 2019.