Larissa Gillespie is in her 21st year as a member of Widener’s athletic administration, currently serving as Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator. She recently completed a 20-season run as Widener’s head field hockey coach and has been a part of Widener athletics for 28 years overall.
In her role as Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator, Gillespie has been able to branch out her reach both with the department and on campus as a whole. She is the Title IX Deputy Coordinator and is certified in Green Dot training for all student-athletes.
Gillespie is an advocate for mental health and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She was the founder of The H.U.B., formerly known as Room 204. It is a safe space for student-athletes to unwind and, along with the pairing with CAPS, it provide three workshops titled, "Check-up from the Neck up!" These workshops include discussions about life after sports, self-care, and stress management.
Gillespie's work in DEI helped Widener Athletics win an honorable mention for the 2024 NCAA Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA) Award for Diversity and Inclusion. In addition, she was awarded the Julie E. Wollman Endowed Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This recognizes an employee who advocates and effects change at Widener in support of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, by going above and beyond their job responsibilities.
She helped start the the Athletic Faculty Advisor program, which is designed to support student-athletes by increasing communication and strengthening connections among student-athletes, coaches, and faculty. By creating a stronger network around the student-athletes, the goal is to maximize the potential for each student-athlete to achieve excellence in both academic and athletic pursuits. Because of Gillespie's efforts, Widener Athletics currently has 18 faculty advisors.
She is an advisor to the Widener Athletic Leadership Initiative (WALI), a program that is designed to grow and nourish the leadership abilities within student-athletes that can be taken back to their teams as well as enhance their leadership abilities post-graduation. In its first year, WALI student-athletes attended leadership training at the United States Naval Academy, met with coaches and campus leaders to gain a perspective on how they can become better members of the community, and presented an online panel entitled “Prideful Ownership” on how being a campus leader at Widener influences ownership of actions.
Gillespie is an advisor for the Widener Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), serves on the Middle Atlantic Conference Awards Committee, and is the MAC administrative liaison for women’s lacrosse.
As head coach of the Widener field hockey program, Gillespie compiled a 185-156 mark, including five straight years with at least 10 victories between 2003 and 2007.
Arguably her final three seasons as coach were her best, as the Pride compiled a 35-19 record from 2017-19. The team competed in the postseason all three years, making two MAC Commonwealth and two ECAC Tournament appearances. In 2019, Widener enjoyed the best start ever in program history, opening the year 12-0. Lexie Eberly was named the MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year and won the Widener Hansell Award. Eberly and Sabrina Roberto were both selected as All-Region honorees and were First Team All-Conference. Widener placed five players on All-MAC Commonwealth teams including a league-high four First Team members. Joining Eberly and Roberto on the First Team were Jackie Daniels and Madi Radnoff with Meredith Benson earning a Second Team nod. The team finished third in the nation in fewest goals per game allowed and also stood out in the classroom, earning the NFHCA Team Academic Award. Multiple players were noted for their work in the classroom as Eberly was chosen as an Academic All-MAC performer, Radnoff was selected Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area, and Sam Scoma was the recipient of the 2020 Widener President’s Award.
2018 saw the Pride qualify for its second consecutive ECAC Championship. Lexie Eberly was named to the MAC Commonwealth First Team with Madi Radnoff garnering Second Team and Rookie of the Year honors. Sam Scoma was noted for her work both on the field and in the classroom, as she was named to the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area team.
2017 was a banner season for the Pride, winning 12 games, the second most in program history, including the first postseason victory for the team, a 2-0 win against DeSales in the ECAC Tournament. The effort did not go unnoticed as Kayla Herr, Eliza Newlin, Eberly, and Roberto were selected as All-Conference. Herr and Newlin were voted as Academic All-Area with Herr also earning All-Region and Academic All-District honors while also being the MAC Commonwealth Nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
2014-16 saw strides for Widener to build the success of the last three seasons. 18 wins during those years were highlighted by goalkeeper Mikayla Ninos garnering All-Conference and Academic All-Area honors. Presenting a stout defense, Sarah Quintus and Dana Adamson were named Second Team All-MAC Commonwealth.
From 2006-2010 Widener saw some of the top play in program history, finishing above .500 in four of the five seasons while setting records that stand to this day. Most notably, 2006 saw the Pride broke set a then school record for victories by winning 13 games and competed in the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament for the first time. Gillespie also became the all-time winningest coach by notching her 64th victory in a 5-1 triumph over Neumann. The 2007 squad notched a 12-5 record while facing some of the nation’s top teams.
Under Gillespie’s leadership in 2006, Kate Heritage was picked first team all-region and Jaime Carr was tabbed second team. It marked the first time the team produced all-region players. Carr was named the Philadelphia Inquirer Field Hockey Performer of the Year in 2007, and Heritage was selected to play in the Senior All-Star Game.
In addition to the on-field success, which has seen 20 First Team and 33 Second Team All-Conference honorees during her career, Gillespie’s teams have always earned a high level of academic accolades. As a team, Widener has earned the NFHCA National Academic Team Award in 11 of the last 12 seasons. Since 2009, 13 field hockey players have been named Academic All-Area. Herr, Maggie Karmeris, and Trina Menta have been chosen as Academic All-District honorees with Karmeris being a 2015 Academic All-American.
In terms of professional development, 2012 saw Gillespie earn an all-expenses paid trip to the NCAA Women Coaches Academy. The convention is run by the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics (CWA), which started in 2002 and is designed to support an initiative to train and retain women coaches. She then attended a convention sponsored by the NCAA and the Women Leaders in College Sports. The sessions provided education and information on women’s athletics and Title IX, managing issues faced in intercollegiate athletics, improve leadership skills, developing management skills and enhancing self-actualization. Only 80 women across the country in all divisions were selected to participate.
