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Jenny Levy
Entering her 29th season as the North Carolina head coach in 2024, Hall of Famer Jenny Levy is without question among the best coaches in women’s lacrosse history.
Jenny Levy – Career at a Glance:
Entering her 29th season in 2023-24
Career Record: 411-123 (.770)
Carolina Record: Same
ACC Record: 103-24 (.746)
National Lacrosse Hall of Fame (inducted 2021)
USA Lacrosse Foundation Gala honoree (2023)
U.S. National Team Head Coach (2017-22)
Three NCAA national titles (2013, 2016, 2022)
Seven ACC titles (2002, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022)
Three-time IWLCA National Coach of the Year (2013, 2016, 2022)
Seven-time ACC Coach of the Year (1997, 2002, 2010, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2022)
116 All-ACC selections
63 players with All-America honors
14 National Player of the Year winners
11 ACC Player of the Year winners
10 Tewaaraton Award finalists
Three NCAA Tournament MVPs
Two Honda Award winners
North Carolina Career
The only head coach in UNC women’s lacrosse history, Levy built the Tar Heel program from scratch. She was named its first head coach in October 1994.
Over the past 28 completed seasons, Levy has guided Carolina to:
24 NCAA Tournament bids (including 18 straight from 2005-present)
42 NCAA Tournament wins (tied for second all-time by a head coach)
13 NCAA Tournament semifinal appearances (tied for third all-time)
Three NCAA championship titles (tied for third all-time by a school, fourth all-time by a head coach)
10 ACC regular season titles, including seven outright
Seven ACC Tournament titles (most by a head coach, second-most by a school)
Levy became only the fourth coach in women’s lacrosse history to win an NCAA championship as a player (with Virginia in 1991) and as a head coach. She is one of only five head coaches to win three or more NCAA titles.
On March 3, 2023, Levy achieved her 400th career victory. She ranks third all-time in NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse history and second among active DI head coaches for career wins. She also became just the sixth head coach across all three divisions to ever reach the 400 threshold.
Less than two weeks later on March 16, 2023, Levy met another milestone: her 100th Atlantic Coast Conference victory. She became the first women’s lacrosse coach in ACC history to reach the century mark. As of that day, no other coach in league history had more than 67 conference wins.
Levy guided the Tar Heels to its first NCAA title in program history in 2013. The team beat defending national champion Northwestern, 11-4, in the semifinals before downing top-ranked Maryland, 13-12, in three overtimes in one of the most exhilarating games in the sport’s history.
Carolina was crowned national champion again in 2016, winning its second ACC title in school history which sparked a streak of six straight that would last through 2022. UNC held off Penn State, 12-11, in the semifinals before again knocking off Maryland, 13-7, in the final. It was the Terrapins’ largest margin of defeat in nine years.
North Carolina posted a storybook season in 2022 under Levy’s leadership. The Tar Heels set a program record 22 wins for its first-ever undefeated season, winning its sixth-straight ACC title and third NCAA title. After a thrilling 15-14 comeback win over Northwestern in the semifinals, top-seeded UNC held off Boston College, 12-11 for the crown.
UNC produced the NCAA Tournament MVP in each of its three national championship victories: Kara Cannizzaro in 2013, Aly Messinger in 2016 and Sam Geiersbach in 2022. Levy was named IWLCA National Coach of the Year following all three national titles.
In addition to their success on the national stage, Levy and the Tar Heels have also solidified themselves as an ACC powerhouse. The team has reached the ACC championship game 16 times overall – including 12 of the past 13 – and has won seven titles. Levy’s seven is most by a head coach in league history.
UNC’s six titles in a row from 2016-22 (no tournament in 2020 due to COVID-19) is tied for the longest streak in ACC history. The Tar Heels have won 20 straight ACC Tournament games from 2016-2023, the longest streak in the event’s history.
Prior to arriving in Chapel Hill, Levy served as an assistant lacrosse and assistant field hockey coach at Georgetown University from 1993-95.
U.S. National Team Career
Levy was appointed head coach of the United States National Team on November 9, 2017. A former USA Lacrosse Board of Directors member, she oversaw the efforts of the U.S. team toward the 2022 World Lacrosse Women's World Championship.
She guided the U.S. to the gold medal at the 2022 World Championships from June 29-July 9 in Towson, Maryland. It was the fourth-consecutive time, and first on home soil, Team USA had been crowned world champion, and the first time a host country had ever captured gold.
Levy’s U.S. squad finished the tournament undefeated at 8-0 while an 11-8 victory over Canada sealed the gold medal. Four of her players were named to the All-World Team, including former Tar Heel standout Marie McCool (‘18).
Including McCool, six Carolina players were on Team USA’s 18-person roster, the most of any school in the nation: Molly Hendrick ('17), Ally Mastroianni (‘21), Emily Garrity Parros (‘13), Emma Trenchard (‘22) and Caylee Waters (‘17).
Four former Tar Heels in Kristen Carr (‘10), Marie McCool (‘18) Jen Russell (‘10) , Laura Zimmerman (‘12) also won gold medals for the U.S. at the 2017 World Cup in Guildford, England.
As a player, Levy (then known as Jenny Slingluff) was a member of the U.S. National Team in 1991. She was part of the USA Developmental Team from 1994-95, winning gold at the World Cup in 1995.
Collegiate Career
Levy (née Slingluff) graduated from the University of Virginia in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric and communications. She was a standout attacker for the Cavaliers from 1988-1992.
She led UVA to the 1991 NCAA championship, the program’s first national title. She was the leading scorer during the 1991 NCAA Tournament with eight goals, two assists and 10 points, including five goals in the semifinals and three in the title game. She was named the Most Outstanding Attacker and was tabbed to the All-Tournament Team.
A two-time First Team All-America selection, she was named the IWLCA Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in 1992. She earned IWLCA All-South Region First Team honors three times and was team captain as a senior.
In 2002, she was named one of the top 50 players in ACC women’s lacrosse history. She was also inducted into the Charlottesville Hall of Fame in 2017.
Personal
She married Dan Levy of Baltimore, Maryland, in June 1998. Dan, who graduated from UNC in 1993, played lacrosse for the Tar Heels from 1990-93. An attackman, he starred on the 1991 NCAA championship team and was named the ACC Tournament MVP as a senior.
The couple has three children: Ryan (born January 2002), Alec (both September 2003) and Kathryn "Kate" (born July 2006). Ryan will be a junior on the UNC men’s lacrosse team, while Alec will be a freshman on the team in Fall 2023.
Levy was formally inducted in the USA Lacrosse National Hall of Fame in 2021, with the ceremony being held in 2022. She was also honored at the USA Lacrosse Foundation Gala in June 2023.
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