Lauren Thomer completed her third season at the helm of the Valiant women's basketball program in 2011-12 and continues to further her goal of bringing Valiant basketball to new heights.
Thomer has made an immediate impact on the Valiant program, posting the second-most wins by a coach in their first two seasons in program history and also capturing a pair of Freedom Conference regular-season championships. In just three seasons, she already ranks third on the school's career wins list.
The Valiants finished the 2011-12 season with a 9-15 record, including a 6-3 mark on the Kennedy Gym floor. The year started impressively for the team, as Manhattanville took #4/3 William Paterson to double overtime and then captured the Marymount Tip-Off Tournament championship with wins over Gettysburg and the host Saints. The team also closed the year with three wins in the last four games, including a Senior Day win over NCAA Tournament participant Misericordia that saw senior Courtney Turner become the 11th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points.
Following up a successful first season at the helm, Thomer led the Valiants to a second straight Freedom Conference regular-season title in 2010-11, finishing the year with a 17-9 (10-4 Freedom) record. Manhattanville won a pair of in-season tournaments at Salem State and Catholic early in the year and also knocked off #18/23 Bowdoin, the program's first win over a nationally ranked team since 1982. Guards Simona Gordon and Carey Hickey both earned spots on the All-Freedom Conference first team, while Hickey went on to earn the program's first-ever D3Hoops.com All-Region and MBWA All-Met honors as well.
Thomer had a tremendous first season with the Valiants in 2009-10, earning Freedom Conference Coach of the Year honors and leading the team to the Freedom Conference regular-season championship – the first regular-season conference title in school history. In all, Manhattanville went 19-8 (12-2 Freedom) on the year, marking the fourth-most wins in a single season in program history and the most by a Valiant team since 1983-84. The team’s 12 conference wins also marked the most conference wins ever by a Manhattanville women’s hoops team.
In addition to Thomer’s Coach of the Year award, Gordon was named to the All-Conference first team and fellow guards Hickey and Courtney Turner earned spots on the All-Conference second team.
The Valiants served notice to the rest of the Freedom Conference early on in the year, when the Valiants posted a 60-48 win at defending conference champion DeSales University to begin the conference slate. The team continued that momentum by winning eight of its last 10 regular-season games, culminating with a 67-53 Senior Day win over FDU-Florham that gave the Valiants their first conference title of any type since 1981-82.
Thomer came to Manhattanville from the U.S. Military Academy, where she spent three years working with the women’s basketball program under head coach Dave Magarity.
Thomer served as an assistant coach with the Division I Army women’s basketball team for two seasons, helping the team to a 37-24 record over that span. Prior to that stint, Thomer served as head women’s basketball coach of the U.S. Military Academy Prep School (USMAPS) for one season, guiding the program to its first-ever 4-0 record against the other service academy prep schools.
As an undergraduate, Thomer graduated from Rider University in 2004, playing the point for four seasons for the Division I Broncs. The point guard was a three-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic Team selection and received the team’s Academic Excellence award as a senior. She also earned her master’s degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of Virginia in 2006.
While getting her degree at Virginia, Thomer also successfully balanced coaching duties on two different basketball teams. As the head coach for the University of Virginia's club basketball team, she led the squad to a 46-6 record over two seasons and the 2005 East Coast Women’s Club Championship. At the same time, Thomer also was the top assistant coach at the prominent St. Anne’s Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va., mentoring several future Division I players as the squad won a conference title and placed fifth in the Virginia State Tournament.
A native of Philadelphia, Pa., Thomer currently resides in Hoboken, N.J.
Year by Year Record
2009-10: 19-8
2010-11: 17-9
2011-12: 9-15
Record at Manhattanville: 45-32 (.584)
