Occidental College Women's Lacrosse

Marks years at the helm of the Tiger lacrosse program.   During the 2016 season, the Tigers bowed out of the SCIAC tournament in the semi-finals, after upsetting Redlands in an exciting come from behind victory in the 1st round SCIAC game.  Multiple program records were broke during the 2016 season including Senior Alessandra Quaroni become oxy's all time leader in caused turnovers; Senior Kenzi Wright set a single game record with 11 points, and moved into 2nd place for career assists, and sits in first place for points in a season.  Sierra Slack earned All-SCIAC honors for the 2nd straight year and Senior Kenzi Wright also won the prestigious Occidental Athletics Department Grant Dunlap Award which recognizes one Senior Female Student Athlete for her commitment to excellence in the field and in the classroom.  Mark currently serves as the SCIAC womens lacrosse administrative chair, a position she has held since 2014.   In 2015, the Tigers had two consecutive top-three finishes in the SCIAC and multiple regional All-Americans.  2015 saw Sierra Slack be named SCIAC Newcomer of the Year under Marks tutelage.  In 2015 Oxy reached the NCAA Division III Tournament for only the second-time in program history. Led by Tigers senior Beebe Finch Sanders and freshman Sierra Slack who combined for 89 goals, the best one-two offensive combination in the SCIAC that year, Oxy also reached the SCIAC Championship Final. In Janice Marks first season, the 2014 team posted the best SCIAC performance in program history with a 9-3 record and 3rd place finish; and 12-5 overall record.  This season also achieved new single season team totals with 80 assists, 232 draw controls, and allowed 155 goals against which is 9.07 goals against average per game. A record four Tigers were named to the IWLCA All-Region team; Belding named to the first team, and Larson, Wright, and Rosencranz named to the second.  This is the first time since 2012 a Tiger has been named to the West All-Region team and first time ever multiple players from Occidental were honored.  Belding, Larson, and Rosencranz were named to the 2014 All-SCIAC 1st team and Finch Sanders and Wright were named to the 2nd team.  Senior Tori Larson left the program as the all-time career points leader with 219.  Senior Rebecca Belding left the program as the all-time ground ball leader with 127, and Junior Beebe Sanders set the new single season record for draw controls with 73 and is the active draw controls leader in a career with 195 with another season to play. We are very excited about the future of Oxy womens lacrosse and we think weve found the perfect person to take the torch and the team to the next level, Occidental athletic director Jaime Hoffman said. Stephanie is very bright, has a terrific feel for Occidental and comes very highly recommended. From the moment I first stepped on campus, I knew Occidental was a special place," Janice Mark said. "Lacrosse is growing so much out west and I am excited to be a part of that as a coach, teacher and mentor.  Its my goal to take Oxy lacrosse to new heights and be a consistent championship contender in the SCIAC and on the national scene. Prior to Oxy, Janice Mark became the most winning womens lacrosse coach in Allegheny College history; winning 31 games in three years.  She mentored Alleghenys first IWLCA All-American (2011) and mentored two back to back NCAC Offensive Players of the Year (2011, 2012) during her tenure with the Gators. Prior to Allegheny, Janice was an assistant with Goucher College (Baltimore, MD) for two years where she also earned her Masters in education, with an emphasis in athletic program leadership and administration. As a player, Janice Mark was a two-time First Team All-American at Shawnee HS in Southern New Jersey and South Jersey Player of the Year. She was then a four-year starting midfielder at Johns Hopkins where she was voted the team's Unsung Hero by her teammates. Janices leadership helped guide Johns Hopkins to a program best three NCAA tournaments appearances, including a trip to the National Semifinals during her senior season. She was named to the American Lacrosse Academic All-Conference Team and was named American Lacrosse Conference Player of the Week during her career.  She is the schools current leader in career games played. Her club lacrosse experience spans nationally having previously been on staff for the Ravens Lacrosse Club (Baltimore, MD)  and Pittsburgh Premier Club (Pittsburgh, PA).  Currently, she is the high school director and owner of the Los Angeles Aces Lacrosse Club. Janice Mark is married to Matthew Mark, the head baseball coach at Caltech.  They reside in Altadena, CA with their dog Louis, a terrier-beagle mix.