Diane Geppi-Aikens (October 4, 1962 – June 29, 2003) was an athlete and later a

women's lacrosse Women's lacrosse (or girls' lacrosse), sometimes shortened to lax, is a field sport played at the international level with two opposing teams of ten players each (12 players per team at the U.S. domestic level). Originally played by indigenous ...

coach at Loyola College (currently

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early (educator), John Early and eight other members of the Society of Je ...

). During her tenure as coach of Loyola College, the team made 10 appearances at

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

tournaments, with Geppi-Aikens being named "Coach of the Year" three times.Hall of Fame Inductees: Diane Geppi-Aikens
on USA Lacrosse Geppi-Aikens died of

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devices for a computer * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together ** Battery terminal, electrical contact used to ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in 2003. She was inducted into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2015.

Athletic career

Beginning at a young age, Geppi was driven athletically. As a youth, she was one of 2 young girls playing

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

on the local boys' teams.... She attended Parkville High School, where she would earn Baltimore "All—Metro" honors in

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and lacrosse. These athletic accolades led her to be recruited by several colleges, and was offered a number of scholarships to play collegiate basketball. For college, Geppi decided to attend nearby Loyola College where she could remain close to her family. Although recruited to play three sports, Geppi decided to play only volleyball and lacrosse. In lacrosse, Geppi was usually an offensive player. However, in her sophomore year, she suffered a nerve injury which required her to change positions. Geppi converted to

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. The conversion was a success, Geppi would go on to earn

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n honors as a goalkeeper. After college, Geppi continued playing lacrosse, where she helped Team USA win two gold medals in international competition. Geppi was named captain of both the volleyball and lacrosse teams during her playing career. In 1984, Geppi was inducted into the Loyola College Athletic Hall of Fame. She was the youngest person ever to be honored with this induction.

Coaching career

Geppi-Aikens became the head coach of the Loyola Greyhounds women's lacrosse team in 1989. During her career she amassed a 197–71 record and led the team to the

NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship The NCAA Division I women's lacrosse tournament is annual single-elimination tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the national champion women's collegiate lacrosse among its Division I members in the Un ...

tournament ten times. She earned NCAA Division I "Coach of the Year" honors three times, in 1996, 1997, and 2003. Geppi-Aikens also served as Loyola's volleyball coach from 1984 to 1990, and was assistant athletic director for a time. In 2001, during a period a remission from her cancer, Geppi-Aikens was inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Greater Baltimore Chapter Hall of Fame. After battling cancer since 1995, Geppi-Aikens learned prior to the 2003 season that the brain tumor had returned and this time it was inoperable. Despite being paralyzed by the cancer and using a wheelchair Geppi-Aikens continued to coach her team to the nation's # 1 ranking. The Greyhounds advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship tournament before their season ended with a 5–3 loss. In 2003, the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) awarded Geppi-Aikens with the Inspiration Award. This award is presented to an individual who gives hope and inspiration to others.

Cancer

Geppi-Aikens first learned that she had brain cancer in 1995. She had surgery to remove the tumor. Treatment did not prevent the tumor from coming back, and she again had surgery in 1997, 1998, and 2001. In December 2002, she learned that the cancer had again come back, and this time the tumor was inoperable. After the final diagnosis and being told she had only months to live, she stated that she had two goals. She wrote in a

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

article entitled ''No Time To Die'' that she wanted to see her son graduate high school, and to coach her team to play for the national championship. She died on June 29, 2003, just one month after her son's graduation and coaching the Loyola women's lacrosse team to the NCAA Championship Final Four.

Legacy

The Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) presents annually the ''Diane Geppi-Aikens Memorial Award'' recognizing lifetime achievement in contribution to women’s lacrosse. Also, annually at the

Tewaaraton Trophy The Tewaaraton Award is an annual award for the most outstanding American college lacrosse men's and women's players, since 2001. It is the lacrosse equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy. The award is presented by The Tewaaraton Foundation and ...

presentation, an award given to the nation's top male and female collegiate lacrosse players, the ''Diane Geppi-Aikens Scholarship'' is presented. This scholarship was created to honor the women’s college lacrosse player who displays the same leadership, character and perseverance as exhibited by Geppi-Aikens. In 2004, Chip Silverman wrote a book called, ''Lucky Every Day: 20 Unforgettable Lessons from a Coach Who Made a Difference'' recalling stories and events of Geppi-Aikens' life and its effect on her players and those that surrounded her. In her honor, main athletic fields at Loyola College have been renamed the ''Diane Geppi-Aikens Field''. In addition, the college holds the annual ''Diane Geppi-Aikens Memorial 5k Race''.

Personal life

Geppi was born in

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent city ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in 1962 to John and Katherine Geppi. She was one of three children.Silverman, pp. xii-xvi She was a mother of four. She had one son, Michael, and three daughters, Jessica, Melissa, and Shannon.Silverman, p. xvii A single mother, she raised her four children mostly on her own, after she divorced in 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geppi-Aikens, Diane Deaths from brain cancer in the United States College women's lacrosse players in the United States Loyola Greyhounds athletes Loyola Greyhounds women's lacrosse coaches 1962 births 2003 deaths Lacrosse players from Baltimore 20th-century American sportswomen