Amonte Hiller, Paradis, Mason Named to IWLCA Hall of Fame

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. — The Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association has selected three coaches for induction into the association’s Hall of Fame class for 2023. The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place in November during the IWLCA Convention at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront Hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The class of 2023 includes current Northwestern University head coach, Kelly Amonte Hiller, and former coaches Chris Paradis (Amherst College) and Chris Mason (Williams College). University of Florida head coach Mandee O’Leary is the chair of the IWLCA Hall of Fame committee that evaluates candidates and selects the honorees.

“The committee did an outstanding job selecting this class of honorees for our Hall of Fame,” said Liz Grote, President of the IWLCA and head coach at Bowdoin College. “It can be very difficult to use subjective criteria to evaluate the body of work for each nominee, and it’s obvious the committee members put in the time and effort to ensure they chose an accomplished class to induct this year. All three women have not only established a high bar for on-field achievements, but their off the field contributions to the coaching profession and the game at large are worthy of this honor.”

Tickets for the 2023 IWLCA Awards Banquet and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will go on sale later this year and will remain available for purchase through November 1, 2023. If you are interested in purchasing a table or sponsoring this event please contact IWLCA Executive Director, Liz Robertshaw directly.

The IWLCA Hall of Fame was established in May 2017 to recognize and honor outstanding career achievements by collegiate women's lacrosse coaches. The class of 2023 will be the sixth class of honorees to be inducted.

2023 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE BIOS

As of March 16, 2023, Kelly Amonte Hiller has amassed a career coaching record of 337-88, winning .792 percent of the games she has coached, ranking fourth all-time in NCAA Division I history. In May of 2005, Amonte Hiller guided the Northwestern University Wildcats to an undefeated season and the first NCAA Lacrosse Championship ever won by a team outside the Eastern Time Zone, the first of seven national titles. Amonte Hiller led the Wildcats to the national semifinals 10 years in a row from 2005 to 2014 and tied an NCAA record with eight consecutive title game appearances in the process. Since 2004, Northwestern has gone 52-12 (.812) in the NCAA Tournament, making Amonte Hiller the winningest coach in Tournament history. Amonte Hiller has produced the Tewaaraton Award winner in five different seasons as well as the Honda Sports Award recipient on seven occasions. Additionally, Amonte Hiller has coached 64 IWLCA All-Americans and won a total of 11 IWLCA positional Player of the Year awards (two attacker, five midfielder and four defender). 

With a career coaching record of 321-123 (.723), Chris Paradis molded Amherst College Women’s Lacrosse into one of the most successful teams in the nation. Her 321 wins ranks her in the top ten all-time in NCAA Division III. Paradis was named the NESCAC and Berkshire Region Coach of the Year twice (2014 and 2018) and brought one National Championship trophy back to Amherst in 2003, for which she was named the IWLCA Division III IWLCA Coach of the Year. The Mammoths claimed back-to-back NESCAC Championships in 1997 and 1998, made 10 trips to the NCAA Elite Eight (1996, 1999, 2001-2004, 2006, 2008, 2014, 2018), six Final Four appearances (1999, 2001-2004, 2014), and three National Championship appearances (1999, 2001, 2003). Overall, Paradis led Amherst to a 27-13 (.675) record in 14 trips to the NCAA tournament. Paradis, who competed for the United States national team in the World Cup, also coached field hockey at Amherst, leading the team to eight straight postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournament berths (1996, 1999, 2000) and a trip to the National Championship game in 1999. 

Chris Mason won 303 games as the head coach at Williams College over the course of a 33-year career. The Ephs posted undefeated records in 1989 and 1996, placed second in the NCAA Championship in 1998 and 2000 and won a NESCAC title in 2010. Williams earned six NCAA Tournament bids under Mason, and she coached 34 All-Americans, including one IWLCA Offensive Player of the Year (Alana Teutonico Brock ’98) and one IWLCA Defensive Player of the Year (Alyse Clayman ’96). Mason also coached Field Hockey at Williams and won a bronze medal playing for the US National Team at the 1984 Olympic Games.