Renee Olsen will be entering her third season with the Elon lacrosse program in 2022. She serves as an assistant coach under head coach Josh Hexter. Olsen comes to the Phoenix after a four-year stint at Colby College.
Last season, Olsen helped guide the Phoenix to a 9-3 record, including a program-best 8-0 start to the season and the first-ever program victory against James Madison on March 7 (6-5). Over the course of the season, goalie Paulina DiFatta earned Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Defensive Player of the Week honors three times, while Mae McGlynn was tabbed the CAA Player of the Week twice and Quinn Daly was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week once. Margaret Stephan was also the conference rookie of the week selection for two weeks during the season. At the national level, DiFatta added Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Defensive Player of the Week honors on March 9 following Elon's upset against the Dukes. For their performances in the regular season, four Elon players earned all-conference honors: Sara Bouwman (second team), McGlynn (second team), Daly (second team) and Stephan (all-rookie team). The Phoenix eventually made it to the CAA Championship for the fifth consecutive season, but fell to Towson in the opening round.
In 2020, Olsen helped guide the Phoenix to a 3-2 (0-1 CAA) record on the season. During that time, two Elon players received weekly conference honors. Cassidy Creighton was named the CAA Rookie of the Week after the opening week of competition on Feb. 11, followed by Quinn Daly earning CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors on March 3.
Olsen previously served as an assistant coach on the Mules’ coaching staff. After working with the team’s offense in her first season (2016), she was named the defensive coach from 2017-19. In her tenure at Colby, she coached three All-Americans, four All-Pilgrim Region selections, and four All-NESCAC honorees. Olsen also trained one NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year.
As a player, Olsen had a four-year career at Trinity College. During her time with the Bantams, she helped Trinity to four consecutive NCAA Division III Championship appearances and one national title during her freshman season. She finished her career with 52 goals and 15 assists.
A 2015 graduate, Olsen earned her Bachelor’s in Economics. She is currently pursuing her Masters of Sports Leadership at VCU.
Olsen is the fifth assistant coach in program history. She replaces Katrina Geiger, who departed after accepting a coaching position at Georgetown.
