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W&L Men’s Lax Coaches Honored
The Washington and Lee University men’s lacrosse coaches were honored by the Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) as the 2024 Region 4 Staff of the Year for the second straight season and the third time since 2018.
Announced in a press release on Thursday, W&L head coach Gene McCabe and his full-time staff – consisting of Taylor Mendoza and Will Garrett (Class of 2013), along with volunteer coaches Sal Iaria, Chuck O’Connell and Doug Hirsh – garnered the award after leading the Generals to a 16-6 overall record and a trip to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Championships.
W&L posted a perfect 9-0 record in conference play, earning the top seed for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament. The Generals received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they handed defending national champion Salisbury University its only loss of the season, ending the Seagulls’ 41-game winning streak with a 16-15 overtime win in the quarterfinals. W&L then suffered a 19-13 semifinal loss to Tufts University, which won the championship a week later with an 18-14 victory over Rochester Institute of Technology.
The program’s all-time winningest coach, McCabe is 220-105 (.677) in 18 seasons at W&L, and he carries a 274--123 (.690) overall record in 23 seasons as a head coach. He has led the Generals to four ODAC titles and eight trips to the NCAA tournament.
McCabe has served as a faculty member at W&L through two separate stints, first as an assistant coach from 19982001 and again as head coach since 2006. He holds a bachelor’s degree in European history from Bates College.
Mendoza, who completed his third year at W&L, earned a bachelor’s degree in business economics from the State University of New York at Cortland. Garrett played on the W&L men’s lacrosse team for four years, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
