Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 6/7/23
From Staff Report
Ursuline Academy (DE) girls’ coach Feffie Barnhill – a USA Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee who recently was announced as a Philadelphia region Hall of Fame inductee – announced her retirement after 47 years as a lacrosse coach and contributor.
Barnhill, who coached collegiately at William & Mary for 17 years and played at Ursinus College, has earned a plethora of honors in her illustrious career.
She was honored with the 2019 Spirit of Tewaaraton Award in 2019. The Spirit of Tewaaraton Award is presented to an individual involved in the sport of lacrosse, who nobly reflects the finest virtues exemplified in the game, and who, over the course of his or her life, has made a significant contribution to society and to the lives of others.
A 2006 US Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee, Barnhill led W&M from 1982-98 and finished her career as the program’s all-time winningest head coach with a 157-87-1 record. Under her direction, W&M was consistently ranked in the nation’s top 10, earned six NCAA Tournament appearances and seven conference titles.
Barnhill, who graduated from the Tatnall School (DE) in 1971, returned to Delaware to serve as head coach at Ursuline in 2014 after serving as an assistant at nearby Tower Hill.
Active in governing bodies and at the national level, Barnhill served as the president of the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaching Association (IWLCA), second vice president of the United States Women’s Lacrosse Association and was the first woman to serve as Chair for US Lacrosse.
Additionally, she was an assistant coach on the U.S. women’s team that captured the 1989 World Cup in Perth, Australia and later served as the head coach of the Scottish national team for two seasons.
After graduating from Ursinus in 1975, Barnhill took a job at St. Catherine’s, an all-girls boarding school in Richmond, Va. She taught phys ed, coached lacrosse and basketball.
She is a member of the Ursinus and W&M Athletics halls of fame as well as the USA Lacrosse Charlottesville and Delaware Chapter halls. She will be inducted into the Philadelphia region Chapter of the USA Lacrosse Hall of Fame in September at United Sports.