Elizabethtown College Athletics

Elizabethtown College Director of Athletics Nancy J. Latimore named Rob Brooks as head women's lacrosse coach on Sept. 28, 2012. Brooks became the school's fourth head coach in program history.

In just his first year at the helm of the Elizabethtown women’s lacrosse program, Brooks guided the Jays to their second straight Commonwealth Conference title in thrilling fashion. The Blue Jays took down nationally-ranked No. 19 Messiah in overtime in the semifinals and No. 15 Stevenson in the final, both on the road, to claim their place atop the conference in back-to-back years.

Under Brooks’ watch, his team set several team records over the course of the season. Most notably, new records were set for points (45), goals (26), assists (19), and shots (59) on April 3 versus Hood.

He was victorious in his first game against Dickinson, earning a 13-11 win in February in harsh, wintry conditions. E-town was 4-3 heading into conference play and finished out the season with a 12-7 overall record, 6-2 in the Commonwealth Conference, to earn the third seed going into the postseason.

Despite missing the first three games of the season, his top offensive weapon put up sensational numbers in 2013. Leigh Anne Flounlacker ’15 set new single-game records for points (16) and assists (9) in a contest on April 17 at Lycoming, records she had just previously broken two weeks prior versus Hood. She was named First Team All-Commonwealth Conference, IWLCA First Team All-Metro Region, and Third Team IWLCA All-American after ending the season with 73 goals, 44 assists, and 117 points. The 117 points is a new single-season school record. Flounlacker also led the entire country in Division III in points per game at 7.31.

Brooks’ squad also had several other players earn conference and regional honors. Senior Emily Butler ’13 was an IWLCA All-Metro Region and All-Commonwealth Conference Second Team selection. Senior Alexis Morris ’13 was Second Team All-Metro Region and All-Commonwealth Conference Honorable Mention. Senior Becky Porter ’13 was named All-Commonwealth Conference Second Team, while sophomore Caitlin Knight was an All-Commonwealth Conference Honorable Mention.

2013 marked the second straight season in which Elizabethtown qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament and third time in the past four years. It was also the seventh straight winning season and eighth straight year the program has earned a conference postseason berth.

Prior to E-town, Brooks coached four seasons at Division III Marywood University in Scranton, Pa. He guided the Pacers to postseason appearances in each of those seasons while going 46-28 overall. Brooks' teams performed at a high level against conference opponents, winning nearly 75% of their games against Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) opponents (23-8).

In 2012, Brooks' Marywood team achieved a school-record 16 wins and earned the No. 1 seed in the CSAC Tournament. The Pacers advanced to the conference championship game, and advanced to the finals of the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament.

A year prior, the New York native had the Pacers in the captains chair for the first time as the top seed in the CSAC Tournament. MU finished 2011 as the NCAA Division III Statistical Champion in draw controls by averaging 18.78 per game, and ranked second in DIII in scoring offense with 17.5 goals per contest. The 13-win Pacers also ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring margin, total points and ground balls per game.

Marywood's win total under Brooks progressively increased each season, with the Pacers holding a 29-10 record (15-1 in conference) over the last two seasons.

Brooks understands and embraces the development of players on and off the field. On the field, he coached 2012 CSAC Player of the Year Kimberly Commisso and 2012 IWLCA All-Boardwalk Region First Team selection Taylor McKeown. McKeown was also chosen to represent the University in the 2012 IWLCA/Under Armour North-South Senior All-Star Game.

Off the field, his student-athletes were recognized as IWLCA Academic All-Americans eight times, and three of his teams earned IWLCA All-Academic Squad status. More than 50 players to come through the program in his four-year tenure achieved a spot on the CSAC's Academic Squads.

Brooks brings international coaching experience with him to Elizabethtown as well. He served as head coach of the Polish Women's National Team from 2011-12, and was an assistant with the Haudenosaunee Nation Women's World Cup Team from 2008-2009.

His previous collegiate coaching experience includes stops at the University of Rochester (three seasons) and Marymount (Va.) University (one season). At both schools, Brooks focused on the defense and goalies as an assistant coach.

Brooks has been a mentor of the game at all levels with three stints as an assistant coach on boys' high school teams in the Rochester, N.Y., and Fairfax, Va., areas. He was the head coach of the girls' program at The Aquinas Institute in Rochester during the 2008 season.

Brooks earned his bachelor of science in studio arts from Roberts Wesleyan College in 1996, and is currently pursuing his master's degree in higher education and administration at Marywood.