Co-Director

Shannon LeBlanc Hlebichuk

Backed by a resume that includes a pair of NCAA Division II Championships (2005, 2010) and eight Northeast-10 Conference Tournament titles (2003-07; 2010-12), Hlebichuk guided the River Hawks through their first year of NCAA Division I competition as members of the America East Conference in 2013 (2-16, 1-4). She has amassed a career record of 202-66 (.754) with a final Division II record of 200-50 (.800).

Hlebichuk has led her players to All-Conference honors 65 times and All-American recognition 41 times. With 10 consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament bids, eight of which culminated in a championship game appearance, she was a four-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II Coach of the Year (2003, 2005, 2007, 2010), seven-time Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) Coach of the Year and six-time NFHCA Division II North Coach of the Year.
 
In 2013, the school’s inaugural year in the America East, two of Hlebichuk’s student-athletes were named to the conference’s All-Rookie Team, while two more received All-Academic Team accolades. In addition, 12 UMass Lowell field hockey team members garnered 2013 Gladiator SGI/NFHCA National Academic Squad recognition for excellence in the classroom.
 
UMass Lowell concluded its Division II membership with a 19-4 campaign in 2012, including its third consecutive NE-10 Tournament title and sixth consecutive NCAA Championship appearance. Two members of Hlebichuk's 2012 squad were honored as All-Americans.
 
Named head coach in December of 2001, Hlebichuk led the River Hawks to a 9-9 clip in 2002 and into the NE-10 Tournament – the team’s first-ever postseason bid. Just one year later, UMass Lowell went 15-8, captured the NE-10 Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Championship game where it fell to Bloomsburg University (4-1).
 
The 2003 NCAA Championship game was the first of eight title game appearances in 10 years, coupled with semifinal showings in 2004 and 2006. On the eve of the 2003 NE-10 Tournament Championship, Hlebichuk became the third field hockey player inducted into the UMass Lowell Athletic Hall of Fame.
 
Outside of coaching, Hlebichuk served on the NFHCA Hall of Fame Committee from 2008-10 and was formerly Northeast Region chair of the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Committee and the NFHCA Division II All-American Committee. She also served two years on the NFHCA North-South All-Star Game Committee and was named head coach of the North Region squad in 2004 and 2005.
 
Every summer, Hlebichuk acts as the director of the Northeast Field Hockey Camp at The Governor's Academy in Newbury, Mass., which trains more than 150 players.
 
Over the span of her collegiate playing career (1994-98), Hlebichuk amassed 33 goals and 29 assists (formerly a school record), pitting her eighth on the River Hawks’ all-time scoring list. She played an integral role in helping her squad improve to a 15-4 record in 1997, up from a 5-15 clip the previous year. That year, she totaled 19 assists in 19 matches (1.00), which still stands as a Division II record for assists per game.
 
A two-year captain, Hlebichuk was twice named to the NFHCA All-America Team and was named the 1997-98 NCAA Woman of the Year for the state of Massachusetts.
 
Hlebichuk's prowess carried over to the classroom as she earned a spot on the NFHCA National Academic Squad three times. She was also named a GTE Academic All-American and was co-chair of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
 
Hlebichuk moved on to earn her master's degree in higher education at Arizona State in 2000 where she served as a graduate assistant for student-athlete development.
 
She was appointed to an assistant athletic director role at UMass Lowell from 2011-13 until the institution began its Division I transition period.    
 
Hlebichuk and her husband Korey reside in Nashua, NH, with their daughter Liv (11).