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LaHaye Earns 432nd Career Victory,
Becomes R-MC’s All-Time Winningest
Basketball Coach |
LaHaye Earns 432nd Career Victory, Becomes R-MC’s All-Time Winningest Basketball Coach
Ashland, Va. – When the Yellow Jackets entered the opening weekend of the regular season at the R-MC Tip-Off Classic on Saturday, head coach Carroll LaHaye had won four-hundred and thirty games over her twenty-six season career, and needed just two more victories to become R-MC’s all-time winningest basketball coach. It did not take long for her 2008-09 Yellow Jackets to pick up those victories, as the team won consecutive games against Elizabethtown and Alvernia on Saturday and Sunday to start the season 2-0.
After defeating Elizabethtown 71-48 on Saturday, R-MC scored fifty-four first-half points on Sunday en route to a 99-86 win against Alvernia. Senior guard Amanda Hiltunen netted thirty points, converting both of her three-point attempts and all fourteen shots from the foul line. Freshman forward Molly Brown scored thirteen points, while Renee Stein tallied twelve, including ten in the first half. Sophomore Jennifer O’Briant’s nine rebounds and eight assists led R-MC. In addition, Molly Ariail chipped in with nine points, while senior Lindsay Riesbeck added eight.
As the final seconds of the game ticked down, R-MC fans rose to their feet to salute the longtime head coach. Former players and students composed a cheering section in Crenshaw Gymnasium, where LaHaye began her career with the Yellow Jackets in the fall of 1981. Four-hundred and thirty-two victories since her first game at R-MC, she passed longtime men’s basketball head coach and R-MC Athletics Hall of Fame member Hal Nunnally, who coached from 1975 to 1999, on the all-time hoops wins list.
LaHaye has built quite a resume in Ashland. Under her direction, R-MC has earned five Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships, five berths in the NCAA Tournament, four appearances in the Sweet Sixteen, and two in the Elite Eight. In 2005, she piloted the Yellow Jackets to the Final Four and National Championship Game in Norfolk, Va. LaHaye has averaged more than twenty-five victories over the past five seasons.
“Carroll’s players are a well-disciplined group and as welcoming and pleasant a collection of college students that you will ever come across,” said R-MC Athletic Director Denis Kanach. “Year after year she recruits quality student-athletes that are a good fit for the challenging academic culture here and also compete consistently at the national level.”
LaHaye's 432 win-total currently ranks among the all-time leaders in the history of NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball.
In 2007-08, LaHaye led the program to its sixth straight 20+ win season and a national ranking as high as twelfth during the year.
In 2006-07 the Yellow Jackets became just the second team in the history of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference to capture three consecutive league championships. LaHaye and her squad went on to the NCAA Tournament where they advanced to the "Sweet 16" for the third consecutive season, and for the fourth time in LaHaye's career.
LaHaye reached a personal milestone on February 10, 2007 when the Jackets topped Randolph-Macon Woman's College 63-33. With the victory, LaHaye became just the 21st coach in the history of Division III Women's Basketball to reach 400 career wins. Over the last four seasons, LaHaye has led the program to an 106-16overall mark and a 73-7 regular season ODAC record.
In 2005-06, R-MC captured its second consecutive ODAC title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years. The Yellow Jackets ended their season at 28-3 after advancing to the “Elite Eight” of the national tournament.
The 2004-05 Yellow Jacket squad was arguably the best-ever in the history of the program. Accomplishments include: winning the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament for the second time in three years, finishing with the most wins in the program’s history at 30-2, becoming the first-ever women’s team in the ODAC to go 20-0, advancing to the NCAA tournament Final Four for the first time in the history of both R-MC and ODAC women’s basketball, finishing second in the NCAAs, achieving the longest winning streak in the history of the program at 23 games, and finishing the season ranked second in the nation and first in the South Region. LaHaye was named the ODAC Coach of the Year and the Virginia Sports Information Directors state Coach of the Year, and she earned her 200th conference victory early in the season. She was also recognized for her dedication as a faculty member at Randolph-Macon by receiving the Samuel Nelson Gray Distinguished Professor Award at the College’s 2005 Honors Convocation in the spring.
In 2003-04, Randolph-Macon finished 20-8 overall and 16-4 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), made it to the championship game of the conference tournament, and was ranked in the South Region's top ten during the season as well as in the national preseason top 15 by DIII News.
LaHaye’s 2002-03 squad was 20-10 overall, won the ODAC tournament, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament following a first-round win at home. LaHaye earned her 300th career victory during the campaign, and she was named the Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper’s Virginia state Coach of the Year.
After guiding her 1997-98 team to a record of 21-6, a first-place finish in the ODAC, and the NCAA tournament, LaHaye was honored as the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/IKON District V Coach of the Year.
In 1998-99 the Yellow Jackets finished 23-5 overall, won the ODAC regular season championship with a 19-1 record, and made an appearance in the conference title game for the second time in four seasons. LaHaye was named the ODAC Coach of the Year for the third time in six years, and was also the VaSID Small College Coach of the Year for Divisions II-III.
During 1995-96, LaHaye’s team produced one of the most successful seasons in the history of the program with a 28-2 record. The Yellow Jackets won two games in their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament, advancing to the “Sweet Sixteen.” That season LaHaye was named the ODAC Coach of the Year, the WBCA/Converse District V Coach of the Year, and the VaSID college Division II-III Coach of the Year.
A native of Maine, LaHaye earned a bachelor’s degree cum laude in Business Management-Recreation from the University of Maine-Machias in 1977. In addition to being an excellent student, she was a standout performer in basketball and volleyball.
Prior to coming to Randolph-Macon, LaHaye worked as a program director at the North Richmond YMCA and as program coordinator for the Hanover County Parks and Recreation Department. Since joining the Randolph-Macon athletic staff, she also served as women’s athletic coordinator and head coach of women's soccer and lacrosse. In 1982, her lacrosse team finished fifth in the AIAW national tournament.
In addition to her coaching the R-MC women's basketball team, LaHaye is also Director of Physical Education and Associate Professor of Physical Education at Randolph-Macon. She is a member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
"Carroll has touched the lives and careers of more of our students than people know," said R-MC Athletic Director Denis Kanach. "She has dedicated her career and life to teaching as a vocation. She would much rather be known for her countless contributions to our students than by the number of wins she has amassed."
LaHaye's Coaching Honors
1995-96
ODAC Coach of theYear
WBCA/Converse Distict V Coach of the Year
VaSID Small College Coach of the Year for Divisions II-III
1997-98
IKON/Women's Basketball Coaches Association District V Coach of the Year
1998-99
ODAC Coach of the Year
VaSID Small College Coach of the Year for Divisions II-III
2002-03
Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper Virginia Coach of the Year
2004-05
ODAC Coach of the Year
VaSID College Division State Coach of the Year
2005-06
VaSID College Division State Coach of the Year
2006-07
VaSID College Division State Coach of the Year
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