Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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University to announce new women’s basketball head coach Friday

The University will announce the new women’s basketball head coach in a press conference held at noon this Friday.

Nine-year Notre Dame assistant coach Jonathan Tsipis will likely take the helm of the Colonials, ESPN analyst Doris Burke said Tuesday at the conclusion of the NCAA championship game.

GW athletics communications declined to comment specifically on the identity of the new coach, and Notre Dame athletics communications did not immediately return a request for comment.

During his tenure with Notre Dame, Tsipis helped the program to four NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and back-t0-back championship games in 2011 and this season, before the Irish fell to Baylor April 3.

Tsipis will assume the post after former head coach Mike Bozeman was fired in March.

Director of Athletics and Recreation Patrick Nero told The Hatchet in March that GW’s top candidates for the head coaching post “all made it into the NCAA tournament,” and that the University would wait until the conclusion of postseason play to announce its hire.

Tsipis’ Notre Dame information page lists him as a coach that works primarily with the team’s wing players, while coordinating practices, scheduling, recruiting and scouting.

“Jonathan really understands the game from all angles and does a tremendous job of passing that knowledge on to our team,” Notre Dame head coach Muffett McGraw said in the university’s online publication. “He’s a great teacher who stresses the fundamentals above everything else. His scouting reports and game preparation skills are also excellent, and he’s very poised and confident under pressure, which are all qualities that our players respond well to.”

Notre Dame’s online page credits Tsipis with playing a large role in the development of the program’s standout players, including two WNBA Draft picks – forward Jacqueline Batteast and guard Charel Allen – a Big East Conference Player of the Year – Batteast – and the Big East Most Improved Player, guard Natalie Novosel in 2011. He’s also billed as “responsible for building the game plans in 22 of Notre Dame’s wins over nationally-ranked opponents,” in Notre Dame literature and helping to attract a large chunk of the Fighting Irish’s recruiting classes.

Tsipis boasts significant experience with collegiate basketball programs, including stints on the staffs of the men’s basketball program at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, two seasons as an assistant men’s coach at Elon and one year as an assistant coach at LeMoyne College. He also spent three seasons on the men’s basketball staff at Cornell and a year on the men’s basketball staff at Duke.

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