Bates College

130 Central Avenue
Alumni Gymnasium Lewiston, ME 04240

Division 3 Maine Northeast

Private Small National competitor

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Coaches

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Renee Olsen

Director of Athletics Jason Fein announced the appointment on July 19, 2021, of Renee Olsen as the head coach of women's lacrosse at Bates College.

"We're thrilled to welcome Renee as our new head coach of women's lacrosse at Bates," said Fein. "Renee brings a passion for educating and supporting students both on and off the field through their college experiences. She has seen success in her time at Elon, and brings with her a significant knowledge of the [New England Small College Athletic Conference] as both an assistant coach with Colby College and a championship student-athlete at Trinity College. I look forward to her guiding the Bobcats in the years ahead."

As an assistant coach at Division I Elon University for two years, Olsen coached the defense under head coach Josh Hexter, helping the Phoenix to a 9-3 season in 2021 that concluded with a loss to fifth-ranked Towson in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game. The team went 3-2 in a shortened 2020 season. Under Olsen's leadership, Elon's defense ranked third in Division I in goals allowed per game.

"I am honored and thrilled to be named the head women's lacrosse coach at Bates College," said Olsen. "Becoming a NESCAC head coach in the beautiful state of Maine is a dream come true, and I am so excited to hit the ground running."

Olsen played for four years at Trinity College, helping the Bantams reach the NCAA tournament in all four seasons, including capturing the Division III national title in 2012. She earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Trinity, and a master's degree in sport leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University.

She began her coaching career as an assistant at Colby, another NESCAC rival of Bates', after graduating from Trinity, and helped the Mules win a conference title in 2017. After working with Colby's offense in her first season (2016), she served as their defensive coach from 2017 through 2019. In her four years at Colby, Olsen coached three All-Americans, four All-NESCAC honorees and one NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year.

At Bates, Olsen becomes the eighth head coach in program history, succeeding Brett Allen, who resigned after the 2021 season to pursue other professional interests. Allen led Bates to a 110-109 record over 15 seasons, including nine postseason appearances and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2016.

"I look forward to building upon the traditions and success that Brett Allen and his team created and to achieve new successes, and I am so excited to join the Bobcat family and the Lewiston-Auburn community" said Olsen. "My goal is to recruit and develop highly competitive student-athletes to strive for excellence not only on the field and in the classroom, but also in the community."

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Kelsey Shewbridge

Bates College women's lacrosse head coach, Renee Olsen, has announced the addition of assistant coach, Kelsey Shewbridge, to her staff as the duo prepares for the 2023 spring campaign.

The newest member of Bates athletics joins the Bobcats after serving as an assistant coach with Baldwin Wallace University (Berea, Ohio) of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) since January 2021. Shewbridge made an impact on the staff as the Yellow Jackets tripled their win total from 2021 to 2022 and returned to the OAC postseason tournament.

“I’m grateful to have received this opportunity to join the Bobcats community," said Shewbridge. "I have felt welcomed since day one, and I’m excited to work together with Coach Olsen. The Bates' environment clearly helps students thrive through its focus on success, experience, and outcomes; I couldn’t be happier to be a part of that!”

Shewbridge came to Baldwin Wallace after serving as an assistant coach at Kenyon College (Gambier, Ohio) in 2018-19. While at Kenyon, she helped guide the team to a 13-5 overall record, a 6-2 mark in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) and a quarterfinal appearance in the NCAC Tournament.

Prior to Kenyon, Shewbridge earned a Master of Arts in English from John Carroll University (2016-18) while also serving as an assistant coach at the institution. Kelsey focused on the teaching of defensive skills and strategies as she helped implement practice plans, evaluated player performances, assisted in recruitment and analyzed game film.

The Medina, Ohio native earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio. Shewbridge, a four-year letter-winner and team captain for the Purple Raiders, contributed to three consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament championship titles. The squad advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division III National Tournament in 2015, while also collecting a pair of second-round berths.

Shewbridge appeared and started in 70 career games, tallying 22 goals (32 shots on goal) and 11 assists (33 points). The defensive force also recorded 78 ground balls and caused 43 turnovers. Kelsey is a three-time All-OAC and Academic All-OAC selection and an Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) All-Great Lakes Region second-team selection.

A graduate of Medina High School, Kesley was a four-year letter winner in both lacrosse and basketball.