ST. PAUL (Aug. 1, 2008) – Northwestern College Athletic Director Matt Hill didn’t have to look very far to find the Eagles’ next softball head coach, as current assistant coach and former Northwestern player Alicia du’Monceaux was ready in the bullpen.
du’Monceaux, a former shortstop and pitcher for Northwestern from 2002-04, made the transition to coaching in 2005, focusing the majority of her time on the Eagles pitching staff. Now, she’ll have the whole team as her focus, directing a squad that went 28-11 en route to winning their third Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) championship in 2008.
Alicia succeeds Tracy Cromer, who spent five seasons at the helm of Northwestern’s program before taking over the head coaching duties at Manchester College (Ind.).
"We are excited to promote Alicia from assistant coach to head coach,” said Hill. He continued, “As an alumnus, and from her role in the success of this year’s conference championship team, she will continue to build on the foundation that has begun to develop over the last three years. Alicia’s knowledge of the game and care for the growth of her student-athletes shows in her desire to make this program a great experience for all who participate.”
“I am extremely excited to be the head coach,” said du’Monceaux. "Northwestern has a great program that I have enjoyed being a part of the last six years as a player and assistant coach, and I look forward to continue building Eagle softball for years to come. “
A two-time all-conference performer, du’Monceaux ranked second in the UMAC in 2004 in pitching wins, second in innings pitched and fourth in pitching strikeouts. She owns the fourth most pitching wins (19) in Northwestern’s history and the seventh most career pitching strikeouts (79) in program history. Her 215.2 career innings pitched places her sixth all-time in an Eagle uniform.
A Stillwater, Minn. native, Alicia, her husband Travis and their sons Owen, Landon and Lawson live in Coon Rapids.