July 17, 2008
Blankenship Named Interim Head
Women's Soccer and Lacrosse Coach

CHESTERTOWN, MD -- Washington College Athletic Director Dr. Bryan Matthews has announced the hiring of Julika Blankenship as the school's interim head women's soccer and women's lacrosse coach. Blankenship, who has a strong background in both sports, is a familiar face in the Washington College Athletic Department, having served as an assistant women's lacrosse coach for each of the past three seasons.

Blankenship fills the vacancy left by the departure of Suzie Friedrich, who spent five years as the head coach of the two programs before accepting a position as an assistant women's lacrosse coach at Cornell University earlier this month. With the vacancy coming within weeks of the opening of soccer preseason practice, it was decided to appoint Blankenship on an interim basis.

"We are very excited to have Coach Blankenship rejoin our staff as a head coach," noted Matthews. "Her three years as an assistant here have shown her dedication to our student-athletes and prepared her for this larger role in our department and at our school. Her combination of a strong soccer and strong lacrosse background make her an excellent fit for both programs."

A native of nearby Crumpton, Blankenship starred in both soccer and lacrosse in high school, spending two years at Queen Anne's County High School before transferring to neighboring Kent County High School. In soccer, Blankenship was a three-time All-North Bayside selection and led Kent County to two of the best soccer seasons in the school's history. Blankenship earned North-South Senior All-Star honors as a senior, leading the team in assists and finishing second on the team in goals while serving as a team captain. In lacrosse, Blankenship earned Mid-Shore Player of the Year honors as a junior and senior, recording at least 100 points in each of those two seasons. She was named her team's Most Valuable Player as a senior, leading Kent County to a Regional Championship.

Blankenship went on to have a standout collegiate lacrosse playing career at Gettysburg College, where she finished her career as the all-time leader in both points (309) and assists (160). As a senior captain in 2004, she led the Bullets to their third consecutive Centennial Conference Championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals. She was named a first team All-American by the IWLCA/US Lacrosse, Inside Lacrosse, and Womenslacrosse.com and was selected as the Centennial Conference and ECAC Southern Player of the Year. Blankenship, who was also a second team Inside Lacrosse All-American as a junior, put up back-to-back 100-point seasons in her final two years with the Bullets, breaking the single-season school record for assists in each pf those seasons.

Blankenship graduated from Gettysburg with a B.A. in Spanish in 2004 and spent one year as an assistant women's lacrosse coach for Division I UC Davis before arriving at Washington College. While serving as an assistant coach at Washington, Blankenship earned a Master's Degree in Psychology. She will be completing her National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Regional Advanced Coaching Certification next month.

Upon her hire, Blankenship's first act was to re-appoint Kirsten Russell as the assistant coach for the women's soccer team for a third year. Russell has been a part of the Shorewomen's coaching staff since the summer of 2006. She was a an All-Conference selection while starring in soccer at Luther College.

The 2008 season will be the 11th year of varsity women's soccer at Washington College. Seventeen freshmen are expected to arrive for preseason practice next month and the team also returns it top two scorers from a year ago - sophomore Katie Weida (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Country Day) and senior Sarah Yarbrough (Golden, CO/Arvada West).

The Washington College women's lacrosse team will welcome back seven starters for the 2009 campaign, including five of its top six scorers from a year ago. Seniors Suzie Jakub (University Park, MD/St. John's College, DC) and Brittany Lambert (Riva, MD/South River) return after All-Centennial Conference seasons. The Shorewomen are also expecting 18 freshmen to come out for fall practice.