Grand Valley State Women's Lacrosse
Coaching Staff

Alicia Groveston
Head Coach

Grand Valley State Director of Athletics, Tim Selgo, announced that Alicia Groveston will be the first-ever head women's lacrosse coach at Grand Valley State in January 2010.

Groveston was honored with the 2011 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Service Award at the annual IWLCA Meetings in Naples, Fla. The IWLCA Service Award is given to that individual who has committed themselves to the betterment of the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaching Association during the past year.Groveston earned the award after participating as the treasurer/secretary of Lax-4-Life, a national lacrosse campaign to provide and support programs geared toward adolescent and young adult suicide prevention awareness.

Prior to her arrival at GVSU, Grovestonled Gannon University to a 12-4 record during the 2009 campaign and a final Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) ranking of No. 8. The Knights finished 5-3 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), but failed to make the PSAC Tournament on a tie-breaker. In addition to an outstanding season on the field, Gannon's 2009 lacrosse team earned the IWLCA Merit Award for having the second-best team GPA (3.34) in DII lacrosse.

Groveston spent the 2008 season as an assistant for Belmont Abbey when the Crusaders posted a 12-7 record, including a 7-4 conference mark against Conference Carolina opponents. The squad was also nationally-ranked throughout the season in the IWLCA Top 10 poll.

Groveston, an Academic All-American at Salisbury, spent three years prior to coaching at Belmont Abbey in private business. She started her coaching career as an assistant coach at Stephen Decatur High School in Berlin, Md. for two seasons where she coached two All-Americans and helped guide Stephen Decatur to the regional championship.

The Annapolis, Md., native had a stellar playing career in field hockey and lacrosse at Hartwick for two seasons, before transferring to Salisbury for her final two years of eligibility. At Salisbury, she earned All-Conference and Regional All-America honors as a senior defender. In the process, she led Salisbury to an NCAA Regional Championship appearance. Groveston also earned Academic All-Conference and Academic All-America honors as a senior.

She graduated magna cum laude from Salisbury in 2003 with a degree in Communication Arts/Mass Media. Groveston later received her MBA from Salisbury in 2004, graduating cum laude.

Erika Walker
Assistant Coach

Erika Walker enters her first season with Grand Valley State women's lacrosse as its first assistant coach.

Walker comes to GVSU after a three-year stint as an assistant coach at Robert Morris (Pa.), working primarily with the defenders and goalkeepers. On the field at Robert Morris, Walker helped coach four 2010 All-Northeast Conference selections and three All-NEC honorees in 2009. One of Walker's top recruits in the 2009 class was named to the inaugural All-NEC Rookie Team. During her time at Robert Morris, she also coached the 2009 NEC Spring Scholar Athlete of the Year and an ESPN The Magazine 2009 District II University Division First Team Selection.

Before helping the Colonials become a power in the Northeast Conference (NEC), Walker served as a physical education teacher and women's lacrosse coach at the Malvern College in Worcestershire, England. She coached lacrosse at sevendifferent age levels along with guiding the varsity program to a berth in the Small Schools Championships in 2007.

Walker has also worked as a coach and site director with 3 Rivers Lacrosse and the Intrepid Lacrosse Club, both organizations out of Pittsburgh, Pa.

Along with her coaching duties, Walker will be responsible for coordinating recruitment and evaluation of prospective student-athletes, practice planning, film exchange and scouting opponents, along with other gameday operations for the Lakers.

Walker played midfield for McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College) in Westminster, Md., where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology with a sociology minor in 2006. In 2010, she earned her Masters of Business Administration degree from Robert Morris.

Additional Coaches:  Kati Robbins — Head Coach Thiel College, Jackie Rutkowski — Head Coach Albion College, Sara Tisdale — Head Coach Augustana College, Amber Hill — Head Coach Niagara University, GVSU Women's Lacrosse Team, and Additional coaches to be added.