Alex Frank - Lacrosse Coach - University of Colorado Athletics

Alex Frank

Title:
Assistant Coach
Year At CU:
3rd Season
Alma Mater:
Northwestern University '12
E-mail:
alexandra.k.frank@colorado.edu
Phone:
303-492-5393

       Alex Frank is in her fourth season as an assistant for the University of Colorado lacrosse program and was promoted to an associate head coach after helping the Buffs to a 16-4 record in 2017, her second season.

Her work with the Buffs has not gone unnoticed as she was named the 2018 IWLCA Assistant Coach of the Year. She was also selected to serve as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women’s National team in December of 2017.

Over the last three seasons at Colorado, Frank has helped the Buffs to a 43-15 overall record, which includes a 23-4 mark in conference play. CU has also been dominant at home, collecting a 22-2 mark for a .916 winning percentage. The Buffs recorded 19 straight wins from the end of 2016-18, which is tied for the fifth best home win streak in NCAA history.

CU has had four athletes in the last two seasons earn six All-America honors. Sarah Brown and Julia Lisella were the first two players to earn first team honors (2018); Brown was also a second team honoree in 2017. Darby Kiernan was also a two-time All-American, earning second team honors in 2018 and third team honors in 2017. Paige Soenksen was the fourth Buff to record the prestigious award as a member of the third team in 2017. Lisella was also named the 2018 IWLCA Goalkeeper of the Year.

The Buffs have also performed well in the classroom, earning IWLCA Team Academic Honor Squad awards four straight years. In three seasons, CU has earned 26 spots on conference academic teams and have placed 11 on the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll.

2018 was the inaugural season of Pac-12 play and the Buffs recorded a 9-1 mark to win the regular season championship. CU earned the top-seed in the conference tournament and finished second to Stanford. Despite the loss, the Buffs earned an at-large bid to their second NCAA Tournament. The Buffs defeated Jacksonville 23-18 in the first round, which was CU’s first ever tournament win, before Florida defeated the Buffs in the second round, 13-9.

CU was solid on offense and defense during the season. The Buffs were 26th in scoring offense (14.00) and held their opponents to 9.90 goals per game, which was 17th in the NCAA. In conference play, CU’s 14.00 goals per game ranked second. Defensively, CU ranked second in save percentage (.482).

The Buffs recorded their first win over a ranked team on Feb. 12, 2017 with an 11-10 overtime decision against No. 9 Northwestern to open the season. CU went on to win its next 10 games and catapulted into the national rankings, reaching as high as fourth in all three major polls. In a season of firsts for the young program, the Buffs advanced to their first MPSF Tournament Championship game after defeating Stanford in the semifinal round.

The Buffs ranked third in the NCAA in scoring defense, averaging 8.10 goals per game. They were also sixth in scoring margin (+6.35). Offensively, CU was 17th in scoring (14.45) and its win percentage of .800 was eighth overall in the nation.

In 2016, Frank’s first year with the program, CU won 13 games, going 13-5 overall and finishing third in the MPSF with a 7-2 conference mark. The Buffs reached the semifinals of the conference tournament, defeating Oregon 11-3 in the first round. All five losses during the season came to teams ranked in the top 10 nationally and the Buffaloes received votes in both the IWLCA and the Inside Lacrosse top-20 polls several times during the year.

Defense was an emphasis for the Buffs, who ranked second in the MPSF and seventh nationally in scoring defense (7.00). They also were second in the MPSF and eighth in the nation in scoring margin (+5.61 goals per game). Offensively, CU ranked third in the MPSF and 14th in the country in scoring (12.61) and the team’s .722 winning percentage was the 14th-best in the country.

Despite the excellent season on both ends of the field, CU was left out of the 28-team NCAA Tournament field. The Buffs faced six teams during the year that were selected to the postseason, including James Madison, which they defeated 15-14 in overtime on March 3.

Frank came to Colorado after serving as an assistant coach for three seasons at Boston College. Her lacrosse career spans seven years, first beginning in 2008 as a midfielder at Northwestern University. She played her entire collegiate career under CU head coach Ann Elliott when Elliott was an assistant on the NU staff from 2008-12. As a member of the Wildcats, Frank helped her team with three Division I National Championships, first in 2009 and then back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012.

As an assistant with Boston College, she helped guide the Eagles to three consecutive winning seasons (42-18 combined record) and three straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, advancing as far as the quarterfinals in 2014.

In addition to her work at the collegiate level, Frank spent nine years as a coach and director for the Mass Elite Lacrosse Club team, helping players develop specific lacrosse skills and concepts. She also coordinated practice plans for more than 50 team members.

During Frank’s playing career at NU, she earned a variety of accolades for her impressive performance on the field and strong leadership skills, being elected team captain as a junior and senior. The Westwood, Mass., native was named to the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association All-America team three times and was a three-time All-Big Ten Conference honoree while earning a place on the conference all-tournament team twice.

Frank was recognized for her academic achievements as well. She was named to the Academic All-Big Ten team all three years of eligibility (2010-12) and as a senior, she was honored as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year.

Frank graduated from Northwestern in 2012 with a degree in radio, television and film and a minor in business institutions.