Stephanie Smyrl, the associate director of athletics and the senior woman administrator, came to Wheelock College in 2007 as the head women's soccer coach, a role she continues to serve.
In 2008, the Wildcats joined the newly-created New England Collegiate Conference (NECC), as Smyrl led the squad to its first win in the league with a 3-2 triumph at Newbury College on Sept. 20. Under Smyrl, Wheelock won the NECC Sportsmanship Award in 2008 after earning the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Sportsmanship Award the prior year.
Before arriving at Wheelock, Smyrl spent two years as the head girls' soccer coach at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School. In her first year, she guided the team to the Division III North championship title, a first for the program. In the same season, the team advanced to the state championship game, a tremendous improvement from the previous year, when the team was 3-9-4.
Smyrl began her coaching career at Endicott College, where she served as the assistant women's soccer coach for two years. The team won back-to-back Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament titles, earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. She completed her master's degree in business administration at Endicott while working full-time as assistant women's soccer coach and sports information intern.
Smyrl graduated from Stony Brook (N.Y.) University, receiving a bachelor of arts in English. A four-year member of the soccer team, the Pittsburgh native was named co-captain her senior year. She was an active member of the Dean's Student Life Advisory Council and female president for Student Athletic Advisory Council. During her senior year, Smyrl was selected for the Annual Undergraduate Recognition Award in Leadership, and she also received the Eastern Coach Athletic Conference Merit Award.
