Dudley, MA- Nichols College Director of Athletics Charlyn Robert announced on Friday, July 20, the appointment of Natalie Lavin as the school's new head women's basketball coach. Lavin, who has served as an assistant coach at Nichols for the past two seasons, helped lead the Bison to a 37-19 record and two ECAC Tournament appearances during that time. Lavin becomes the third current Nichols head coach to be a graduate of the College, joining head men's basketball coach David Sokolnicki '96 and head football coach William Carven '94. A 2004 graduate, she was a three-sport athlete for the Bison, lettering in basketball, soccer and softball. She received Nichols' Charles M. Hopkins Award at the end of her senior year for her academic and athlete achievements.
“I am very proud and pleased to bring Natalie on board as head coach. She is a passionate coach with great energy for basketball and has done an admirable job with assisting in recruiting the talented incoming freshmen class,” said Robert. “Natalie has been such a part of the foundation work as a player and as an assistant coach to position the team for another successful year.”
“To see the eagerness, the drive, the 'can't wait to get started' emotions and the smile of a dream come true as we discussed the potential of the program made my day as well as Natalie's,” Robert went on to say. “The team is very happy to have Natalie as their mentor and will work hard to make a run at winning the conference championship.”
Lavin closed out her basketball career as Nichols fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,135 points, which now ranks sixth all-time. She averaged 11.6 points per game and pulled down over 500 rebounds during her four years with the program, helping lead the Bison to three straight seasons with over ten wins. She served as a team captain for two years as well.
On the softball field, Lavin played in 103 games and recorded 87 hits. She co-captained the team her senior year and earned Second Team All-TCCC honors as a junior in 2003. As a sophomore in 2002, she received an All-TCCC Honorable Mention as well. Lavin returned to the program in 2005 and 2006 when she was an assistant coach for the team.
Lavin played one year of soccer as a junior in 2002, when the Bison earned their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. Despite never having played soccer before, she immediately stepped into the starting goalkeeper position and was once name the Rookie of the Week.
Prior to becoming an assistant coach at Nichols, Lavin spent one year at Worcester State as an assistant women's basketball coach.
