The spring of 2011 was the ninth, and finest, season for Bowdoin head coach Liz Grote, who guided the Polar Bears to unprecedented heights, including the most wins in school history (18), the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA "Final Four" and runner-up finish in the Division III Tournament.

In the process, Grote surpassed long-time head coach Sally LaPointe as the winningest in program history. Since coming to Brunswick, Grote has won over 66% of her games (104-52) and has paced the Polar Bears to three NCAA Regional Final appearances. Coach Grote was honored as the IWLCA's New England Coach of the Year in 2005.

A native of Simsbury, Conn., Grote is a 1994 graduate of the University of Vermont and came to Bowdoin with an extensive background in college lacrosse. In addition to accumulating a school-best 32-18 record in three years at Wooster, Grote held assistant coaching jobs at Monmouth University (1995), Princeton University (1996) and the University of New Hampshire (1997-99).

In 2002, Grote led Wooster to a school- record 12 victories (12-6 overall), surpassing the 29-year program's previous top mark of 10 wins in a season. Even more noteworthy, she helped direct the Scots to their first conference title and first NCAA appearance, where they lost to Cabrini, 12-11, in the first round. Grote has been named the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Division III West Region Coach of the Year twice (2000, 2002) and was tabbed as North Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in both 2001 and 2002.

Grote is at a helm of a program that plays in perhaps the most competitive lacrosse conference in the nation, the NESCAC. Bowdoin plays a competitive out-of-conference schedule as well, which includes an annual spring trip to Florida.

2011 was the fourth season for Katie Hawke as assistant coach of the Bowdoin women's lacrosse team. The head coach at Springfield College from 2005-08, Hawke led the Pride to a pair of NEWMAC Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances while twice earning Conference Coach of the Year recognition. Before Springfield, Hawke coached at Mount Holyoke College, where she served as a visiting lecturer in physical education, and assistant women's lacrosse coach and head squash coach.

From 1995 to 1999, she was the head of girl's physical education at the Queensbury School in Bradford, England. In 1999, Hawke came to the United States to pursue a master's of science degree in exercise and sports studies and serve as a graduate teaching fellow at Smith College. She was awarded her master's degree in May of 2001, and went on to hold visiting lecturer and coaching positions at Elms and Mount Holyoke. Hawke graduated with honors with a bachelor of education in physical education from Leeds Metropolitan University in England in May of 1992.